It's Not You It's Her
by loveableturtle
Summary: Santana is dating Puck, and she's one of the most poular girls at McKinley. Her life seemed pretty good, until her mom delivered some devastating news. Can the beautiful Brittany who's just moved in next door turn things around?
1. Chapter 1

**This fiction is for my best friend, to who I am really really soory, I completely screwed up and I'm a total idiot and I know sorry isn't good enough but I really hope you forgive me! I hope you like the story, I like writing it! Updates could take a while since the chapters are pretty long, but I'll try not to take too long! :D Please review! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line.**

Chapter 1

I flopped down on the couch in the small apartment I shared with my mother and three little brothers. I was so tired it was unbelievable. I guess that's what happens when I stay out all night partying. You would think that by now I would know that when Puck, my boyfriend, said we would only stay a couple hours, he means only a couple hours after midnight. It didn't help that in Glee Mr Schue had been yelling at everyone for God-knows-what. It was probably something to do with Rachel. It's always something to do with Rachel. All everybody cares about now is Rachel, ever since she joined Glee last semester. I'm so sick of it! I'm so sick of _her._

"Santana Lopez, get in here now!" yelled my mother from the other room. I winced as the loud noise made the pain in my head practically double. My mother was the most amazing woman in the world, and I love her to bits. But sometimes I really hate her. She was probably going to yell at me about last night, or rather, this morning. She hates it when I come home drunk; she says it's bad for my health. Says her, who drinks _and _smokes. At least I'm smart enough to stay away from cigarettes. And I don't do drugs, though most people think I do. I care about my body enough to not ruin it with drugs and smoking.

"What mom?" I sighed, dragging myself off the couch and trudging into the other room, where my mother was sat at the table, ironically with a cigarette and a glass of wine. She looked up from the magazine she was reading and smiled. I could tell that this wasn't her first glass from the slightly crazy look in her eyes. I knew there was something really wrong; no matter what, she never drank anything even slightly alcoholic before half past eight. It wasn't even four yet.

"Come sit with me, honey." She slurred, lifting her glass to her lips, ready to take a swig. I darted forwards to stop her.

"I think you've had enough, mom. What's up?" I asked, trying to disguise the rising anxiety in my voice. She stared at the glass as I took it out of her hands and set it down on the counter behind me. The wine sloshed over the side of the glass, spilling onto my hand, so I turned to wash it off. When I turned back, I was shocked to see the tears streaming down her face. I quickly wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly, waiting for the tears to stop. I knew not to say anything. I had learnt from experience that if I asked, she wouldn't tell me.

"I'm sorry Santana honey. Really sorry. It's just…" she trailed off with a fresh round of tears. I hadn't ever seen her like this before. Sure, I'd seen her crying, but I had never seen her this bad. I felt the tears soaking into my sweater, and silently cursed. This was my favourite sweater! Then I mentally shook myself. How selfish, worrying about a sweater when my mother is literally breaking down in my arms.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked gently, hoping for a straight answer.

"Your father died, Santana." I heard what she said, but I couldn't believe it. My father couldn't have died. Well, he's had cancer for three years now, and he's gotten worse and worse since he was diagnosed, so technically speaking he _could _have died. But he was my _dad! _My dad can't be dead! Nobody's dad dies when they're still a teenager! This isn't fair! I didn't even realise I was crying until I felt my mom wipe a tissue across my cheeks. Suddenly sober, she had stopped crying and was hugging me tightly, like I had been hugging her only a few moments ago. But, unlike her, I pulled away.

"No, no no no no! Mom, he can't be dead! He can't be dead!" I cried, pushing her back when she attempted to pull me back into a hug.

"Santana, I know this is hard, but-" she started to say, but I cut her off.

"No, mom! He's not dead! He's my dad! He told me he would always be here for me! He's can't be dead" she stopped trying to hug me when I shoved her away for the third time, instead just standing there, looking at me pityingly.

"I'm so sorry honey, but you knew this would happen sooner or-"

"No! Shut up mom, SHUT UP! HE'S NOT DEAD! You're a fucking liar! My father is still in the hospital! He's still fighting, mom! One day he's going to get better, okay? He promised me he would get better!" I screamed, now sobbing uncontrollably. She just stared at me, letting me get it all out, which angered me more. Suddenly, all I wanted to do was hit her. That smug cow, it was her fault he was dead! He was only diagnosed from cancer after she asked for a divorce. If she hadn't been so selfish he would never have gotten cancer in the first place! The doctors said he had had it for a long time, that it had nothing to do with stress or anything, but I know they were wrong. It was all her fault.

Without thinking, I reached out and slapped her. My first feeling was satisfaction. It just felt so good to get it out. But that quickly changed to horror as my anger evaporated and I suddenly realised what I had done. I had slapped my mother. I had _slapped _my _mother! _I slapped a hand across my mouth, shocked and ashamed at myself. She just stared at me, open mouthed, slowly bringing her hand up to rest on her cheek which was slowly turning red. It felt like time had suddenly slowed down, that we were all moving in slow motion, as my three little brothers, Jonah, Lucas and Peter, ran in to see what all the shouting was about.

I slowly looked from my mother to my brothers and back to my mother. From the confused but happy looks on their faces I knew she hadn't told them yet. And I knew there was no way I could stand to hear her say it again, so I did the only thing I could think of. I ran out of the house, down the street, to the park.

An hour later I was still in the park, sat alone on a cold metal bench, beginning to regret running out without a coat on. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered. Hearing a high pitched giggle, I turned to see a little girl and what looked like her father running around with a little dog. Suddenly I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Covering my face with my hands I let the tears fall. I cried for what felt like hours, although it could only have been a few minutes. I jumped, shocked, when I felt someone sit down beside me on the bench. Looking up, I was momentarily stunned into silence at the gorgeous blonde sat beside me.

She was tall and skinny, but not too tall or too skinny. She had gorgeous brown eyes and beautiful pink lips. I caught myself staring, and mentally shook myself. _She's a girl_ I thought. _I noticed._

"Hey. I'm Brittany. You're crying." She said. She had such a perfect voice. Not too high and girly, but definitely feminine. I smiled slightly at the way she said it, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to just start talking to a total stranger in the park.

"I know. I'm Santana, by the way." I answered.

"Santana is a pretty name. Why are you crying? Did your gerbil die? I cried when my gerbil died. Did your cat die? I cried when my cat died too. The vet said he died because he ate my gerbil, but I think it was because of the smoking." I laughed, something I would have never expected to do this soon after my dad had died. I thought she was joking to make me feel better, but I could tell from her expression that she was either a very good actress or she was being deadly serious.

"No, my gerbil didn't die. Or my cat. I don't have a gerbil, and I'm allergic to cats." She smiled knowingly.

"If you're sad you should get a gerbil. Monkey always cheered me up when I was sad."

"Monkey?" I asked, confused. She looked at me like I was stupid.

"My gerbil. Monkey."

"You named your gerbil Monkey?" I asked.

"Well, yeah. What else was I supposed to call him? Gerbil? Now that is a stupid name for a gerbil. It's like calling a little girl 'Girl'." I laughed again, finally stopping crying.

"Good point. Anyway, I don't think a gerbil, even a gerbil called Monkey, could help me right now."

"Why not? What happened? Oh my God, did your parrot die? My parrot didn't die. Yet…"

"No," I laughed again, "my dad died." She looked at me, biting her lip. She opened her mouth to say something, but shut it again. We sat there in silence for a minute or two, before I spoke again.

"What were you going to say? A minute ago, you were going to say something but you stopped. What was it?" she smiled slightly.

"I was going to ask if you were okay, but you're crying, so you're obviously not okay." I smiled again, feeling my eyes begin to water once more. Seeing me crying, she started panicking.

"Oh no! Don't cry again, please! I hate it when pretty girls cry! Look, you can share my dad if you want. He's over there by the swings, playing with my little sister." I smiled again through the tears flowing freely down my face. What is it about this girl that makes her so good at making me smile, even when I'm so devastated?

"Don't worry, you don't have to share your dad. I'll be fine. I'm just really stressed lately, and this was just the icing on the cake. See, my boyfriend has been really clingy and lovey-dovey lately, and I've been feeling really uncomfortable. My mom's been drinking more and more every night, and now my father is dead."

"You know what you need?" she said matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"A hug." She smiled, wrapping her arms around me. I knew this was weird, since I had only met her about ten minutes ago, but for some reason, it just felt right. And no matter whether it was wrong or not, it made me feel a whole lot better. So I hugged her back, and I didn't let go for a long time, until I felt someone stood behind me.

Pulling away, I turned to see the man I saw earlier, holding the little girl in his arms.

"Hey Britt, who's your friend?" he asked, and I realised that this was her dad, and the girl was probably her sister.

"This is Santana. I'm sharing you with her. And she needs a gerbil. Can we go to the pet store and buy Santana a gerbil dad?" he looked at me weirdly, but I just shrugged and he nodded understandingly.

"No, petal, we can't. Come on, we're going home."

"Wait a second dad. How are you getting home Santana?" she asked. I shrugged again.

"Walking, I guess."

"Don't be silly! We can give you a ride, right dad?" he looked dubious, but nodded anyway.

"If you're sure…" I said, not wanting to be pushy.

"Of course we're sure. Where do you live?"

"14 Davison Close. It's near the town centre, I'll give you directions if-"

"Oh my God! You live at 14 Davison? We just moved into number 21! We're neighbours!" she squealed, while I smiled slightly, looking to her father for confirmation. He nodded slightly, and I turned back to Brittany and smiled back.

"Okay, Santana, let's go. You know, I've only known you for a few minutes, but I already know we are going to be great friends! And Lord Tubbington is going to love you!" she jumped up, dragging me with her, and pulled me along towards the parking lot. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into, but I knew I was going to like it…

**Please review! I'll write faster if you review! Thanks! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! You have my best friend to thank for this chapter! If she hadn't bugged me about it I wouldn't have updated so fast! Thanks for all the faves and alerts, but could you please try to review, even just a word or two? I would really appreciate it! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line.**

Chapter 2

It was a little awkward during the drive home, but it wasn't that long. When we got there, I was about to go into my house when Brittany stopped me.

"Come on Santana! Come see my room! You can meet Lord Tubbington! I'm sure he'll love you!" she said quickly, as if she couldn't, except for the fact that she was absolutely gorgeous, and had the body of a supermodel. And she mentioned the mysterious 'Lord Tubbington' again. Is it weird that I was a little afraid to ask who he was?

I followed her into the house, then up the stairs into her room. My first thought was that it was way too pink. But then she ran in and jumped onto the bed, smiling at me, and I realised that it was just right. Pink fit her personality perfectly: bright, bubbly and totally hot. I mean, girly, totally girly. Why would I think she was hot?

"So…" I said, looking at her questioningly. I looked around the room, still stood awkwardly in the doorway, until I heard her sigh loudly. She rolled her eyes and made a 'come here' gesture with her hand. I walked over and sat down on the bed nervously. She giggled and smiled.

"I've never had a girl on my bed before." She smiled, and I laughed.

"But you've had guys?" I asked sarcastically, not expecting her to say what she said next.

"Yeah, loads. My parents let me have guys over, but not girls. They don't trust me." She was still smiling, sending me a 'you know how they are' look when she talked about her parents. I stared at her, still confused.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot! See, back in New York, everyone knew I was gay. So here I am talking to you as if you know everything about me, and you're just sat there! I am such an idiot sometimes! That reminds me, you need to meet Lord Tubbington. TUBBS, COME HERE!" she made me jump by yelling that last part. I looked around, trying to figure out who Lord Tubbington was. And I almost screamed when I felt the bed tilt as the hugest cat I had ever seen jumped, well actually he climbed, onto the bed. This had to be Lord Tubbington. And the name was probably the biggest understatement of the century; the cat was enormous!

"So this is the famous Lord Tubbington!" I said, staring transfixed as the cat plodded extraordinarily slowly across the bed. Brittany patted him on the bed, then wrapped her small arms around him and tried to pick him up. I half expected her twig-thin arms to snap, but they didn't. But she couldn't quite manage to lift the cat; instead she just kinda dragged him towards her.

"Yup, this is him. He's looking a little on the skinny side, I think. Maybe we should feed him a little more…what do you think?" she asked. I looked at her, expecting her to laugh, or smile, or do something to indicate that she was joking. But nope, she was deadly serious. I coughed, not wanting to offend her or her cat, but also not wanting to tell her to feed him more and probably kill him.

"Well…I think he looks perfectly healthy. You wouldn't want to feed him more and risk getting him fat, would you?" I said, and sighed in relief when she smiled and nodded. I'd said the right thing.

"I guess. So, where do you go to school Santana?" she asked, letting go of the cat who immediately plonked down on the bed and started snoring.

"I go to McKinley High. Do you know where you're going yet?" she squealed, clapping her hands and bouncing once, waking Tubbs. He lifted his head, slowly, and stared at her, before going back to sleep.

"I'm going to McKinley too! We can be friends!" she smiled and I laughed at her enthusiasm.

"We could have been friends anyway, Britt." I said, and she nodded.

"Well, yeah, but its better if we go to the same school isn't it? We can talk to each other all the time and walk to school together and everything." I snorted.

"Walk? Are you kidding me? The school is, like, ten miles away. I catch the bus." She frowned.

"But I like walking. I always walked to my old school; it stops me from getting fat, since I eat way too much. My mom is always moaning about how much I eat, I don't wanna get fat!" she cried. I patted her hand awkwardly, not sure what to do. I didn't feel like we were close enough to hug yet, but she had hugged me earlier. And we're friends, no matter how long we've known each other, and friends hug friends when they're upset. I pulled her into a hug, ignoring the strange feeling in my stomach. We stayed like that for a while, before she pulled back slightly. She smiled at me, still keeping her arms around me, and leant in, pecking me on the lips shortly. It was then that I remembered her telling me she was gay a minute ago. I had been so distracted by the fat cat that I had completely forgotten.

I pulled away, jumping off the bed and staring at her in horror. She smacked her hand over her mouth, as if she was shocked at what she had done.

"I'm so sorry Santana! Please don't hate me! I just…Tubbs told me to do it!" she cried, pointing to the cat. His ear twitched but other than that he didn't move. I wasn't really disgusted, or anything like that. The only reason I was shocked was because…I kind of liked it. The funny feeling in the pit of my stomach had intensified, to the point that it was almost painful. I smiled, shaking my head softly when she blamed the cat.

"It's fine Britt, honest. I don't mind, I was just a little surprised." I said, and she looked confused.

"You don't think it was disgusting?" she asked. I frowned, wondering why she would think that.

"Well, if I was hanging out with a guy friend, and he kissed me, I wouldn't find it gross. So why would I find it gross for you to kiss me?"

"Most girls would. This happened before, and she slapped me." I was shocked, but also not really surprised.

"Who was that?"

"Amelie, my ex-best friend. She was the reason everyone knew I was gay. She told everybody. Luckily I was more popular than her anyway, so most of my other friends stood by me. And I wasn't bullied, than God. I don't think I could have survived if I had been bullied. Why don't you find it disgusting, though? Are you gay too?" she asked innocently. My eyebrows shot up.

"No! I mean, not that I think it's a bad thing, but I'm definitely not gay. I mean…I have a boyfriend." I had never really thought about it before, but now that she's mentioned it, that would explain why I've never really felt physically attracted to Puck, or any of the other guys at McKinley. But I've always felt weird and sweaty every time I had to do something compromising with another Cheerio. Who knows…no! I am not gay! My father hated gay people, and my mother doesn't really approve. And there's that gay kid, Kurt, at school, and he gets the shit beat out of him every day. I can't go through that! I am not gay. I can't be gay.

"Oh, well I guess that's too bad. You're really hot, Santana. I'm sure I would have enjoyed your sweet lady kisses." She smiled sweetly, before going into her closet. After a few minutes she still hadn't come back out. I wondered if she was upset or something, but I didn't want to go in there in case she was changing.

"Britt?" I called, worried.

"Yeah?" she replied, sounding fine.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, things were all awkward, so I went back in the closet. Did it work? Do you remember that I'm gay?" she asked, and I laughed. Not just a little laugh, a full on, absolutely hysterical laughing fit. She came out of the closet, (again! :P), to see what was wrong.

"What's so funny?" she asked, completely clueless.

"Britt, I hate to break it to you, but the whole closet thing is just a metaphor. It's not literal. Going into the closet won't change anything." I sputtered out between giggles.

"Oh. Well, that explains a lot…" she trailed off, before giving me a weird look, "you know, it really wasn't that funny. And you're laughing at me and it's a little annoying." She said, looking a little hurt. I immediately stopped laughing and apologised.

"Sorry, Britt. I just find things funny." She smiled.

"It's okay. Do you know what time it is?" I checked my watch, and told her it was almost seven.

"Okay! Come on, let's go order pizza!" she grabbed my hand and dragged me downstairs. I followed her into the kitchen where her dad was feeding her little sister.

"Hey dad! Have you ordered pizza yet?" she asked, kissing him lightly on the cheek and wrapping her arms around him from behind.

"No. Erm, can you take your sister into the lounge and order? I'll have plain, you can share a large with your friends and get Libby a small pepperoni." He smiled, picking up his youngest daughter and passing her over to Britt, kissing each girl on the forehead.

"Sure dad, thanks! Santana, what do you like on your pizza?" I smiled and shrugged.

"Whatever. Do you want me to pay half Mr…?" I asked, turning to Brittany's dad.

"Mr Pearce, but you can call me Dan. And no, don't worry about it. You won't get half anyway, not if you're sharing with Britt. As her mother always says, that girl eats enough to feed an army." I laughed, about to turn around and follow Britt into the other room, but he stopped me.

"Wait! Santana, is it?" I nodded, so he continued.

"Listen, you seem like a nice girl, and I think I'm going to like you. But if you do anything to hurt my daughter, I will probably shoot you. Or throw Tubbs at you. Whichever would do the most damage." I chuckled.

"Probably Tubbs. If I try to catch him, that is…" now it was his turn to laugh.

"You'd better not let her hear you making fun of Tubbs. She'll never speak to you again."

"Thanks for the advice, Mr Pearce. But seriously, me and Britt are just friends. I have no problem with her being gay, but I'm straight. I have a boyfriend." He looked unsurprised.

"Well, I understand that. I didn't think you were gay. But you don't have to be gay to give her the wrong impression. It's happened before. She's had a friend, spent time with the friend, gotten the wrong idea and tried something. The first time that friend told everyone in her school and almost ruined her life; the second one just stopped speaking to her and eventually left town. But they both hurt her. In different ways, they both hurt her. And I don't want to see her hurt again, okay?"

"Okay, Mr Pearce."

"Good, I'm glad we had this talk. Do you go to McKinley high?" he asked, smiling at me kindly.

"Yeah. Britt said she was going. She was worried since I told her it was too far away to walk. She thinks she's going to get fat." His smile instantly turned to a frown.

"That stupid cow!" he cried. I stared at him, shocked. He looked at me, then shook his head.

"No, not Britt. Her stupid mother! She's always gone on about how much the girl eats, but we all have. It's nothing new, she eats a lot and we all know that. But lately her mother has been saying things, just little things, but you can tell they're really getting to her. She'll just say things like 'you must get a lot of exercise', or 'you can't expect to keep that figure forever if you keep going like this'. Britt pretends like she doesn't care, but I know it does." I was shocked. My mother would never say anything like that to me.

"Where is her mother?" I asked, curious.

"In New York. That's one of the reason's we moved here. Her mother and I just got a divorce." I suddenly realised that my first impression of Britt was all wrong. I had imagined her with the perfect life, loving family, gorgeous boyfriend/girlfriend. Guess that just proves that you can't judge a book by its cover, eh?

**Please review! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I hope you liked the last chapter, but I'm kinda bummed because I got no reviews! I've had loads of favourites and alerts, but only 3 reviews for chap 1 and none for chap 2! Please review! If I dont get any reviews I'm not going to continue with this story. I know it seems harsh but I spend all that time writing and all Im asking is for one or two words, just to tell me you like it! So please review! :D **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line.**

Chapter 3

I woke up the next morning with a sore throat and a pounding headache. I knew exactly why I had a sore throat- it was probably down to me throwing up all that pizza I ate with Britt. The headache, on the other hand, was a mystery. I hadn't even been drinking. Sitting up in my bed, I groaned as a rush of vertigo hit, and I lay back down again. Holding my head, I trudged down the stairs and into the kitchen. I was surprised to find my mom sat in her chair, reading the paper and drinking tea. I expected her to start yelling at me, but she merely glanced at me then back down to her paper. I opened the cupboard and found the aspirin.

"What's wrong sweetie?" my mom asked, all concerned. I smiled slightly. She didn't _sound _like she hated me.

"Headache." I croaked, wincing at the searing pain in my throat.

"And a sore throat by the sound of it." She smiled, and I nodded, filling up a glass with water so I could take my aspirin.

"Yeah, I feel kinda rough today." She smiled sympathetically, getting up to hug me.

"You'll be better, Santana. You had a rough day yesterday." The soft, caring sound of her voice made me feel twice as bad as I did, and I pulled away.

"Why aren't you yelling at me?" I asked, raising my voice a little. She looked at me strangely.

"Because I'm not angry…" I rolled my eyes.

"I slapped you, mom. I did something completely disrespectful, and then I ran out and didn't come back until early in the morning. Why the hell aren't you angry?" I yelled this time.

"Shh, you'll wake your brothers! Look, Santana, I forgive you for slapping me. I just told you that your dad was dead. You were upset; I can't blame you for that." She tried to hug me again, but I backed away, still feeling guilty.

"But I slapped you. It's not like you killed him; you just told me he was dead. I had no right to slap you, mom!"

"I never said you had the right, honey. I just said you had a reason." I smiled a little, but I still felt terrible.

"I wish you would just yell at me. Then I might not feel so bad."

"How dare you lay a hand on me Santana Maria Elizabeth Lopez! I have provided you with food, water and a roof over your head for seventeen years now, and you have the nerve to slap me? I should kick you out, you little undeserving brat!" she shouted this, but she was grinning the whole time. I was wrong; it made it worse. I knew that everything she was saying was true, and the fact that she didn't mean it just amplified my guilt.

"I think you woke the boys up mom." I whispered, wiping the tears from my eyes. Her eyes widened and she wrapped her arms around me, worried that I was upset about what she said.

"I'm sorry honey, I didn't mean it!" she cried flustered, and I smiled.

"No, mom, it's not that. It's just…everything you just said was true, and you don't mean it! I just feel so fucking guilty!" I shouted the last part, just as my brothers ran into the kitchen. They stopped, staring at me in shock. They hardly ever heard me swearing, and certainly not at mom. They never saw me slap her last night, luckily. I wouldn't want to make them think it was okay to do that.

"Sorry, boys. Do you want breakfast?" mom asked, shuffling them out of the kitchen, shooting me a 'we'll talk later' look over her shoulder. Sighing, I left the kitchen to get ready for school. Slipping off my pyjamas, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing my best bra and panties, but suddenly I just wanted to rip them off and throw them out. I scowled at myself. I was so fat! I ran a hand over my smooth stomach, ashamed. I hardly ate anything, and when I did eat I usually threw it up. How was I still so fat? Everyone else keeps commenting on how skinny I am, and how they were so jealous, but they're obviously just saying that because they feel sorry for me. I'm the fattest girl on the cheerleading squad. Sure, I put on this persona, where I act like I think I'm I'm the hottest girl in school and I always pretend to be so confident, but it's all a lie. And seeing Brittany shovel down at least three-quarters of that pizza last night and still be skinny as anything made me realise how truly huge I actually was.

Fighting back tears, I ran into my small bathroom, bending over the toilet and shoving my fingers down my throat. I heaved, but nothing came out. I tried again, and again, but still nothing. Sighing, I got up and unlocked my bathroom door, to find my mom standing there looking worried.

"Are you okay sweetie? I guess you're really ill! You can't go to school like this!" she babbled as I walked across my room to finish getting dressed.

"Relax mom, I wasn't sick." As tempted as I was to just agree with my mom and spend the day in bed, I didn't want to abandon Britt to spend her first day at McKinley alone.

"Are you sure? I don't think you should go to school anyway. You obviously don't feel well…" I smiled. It's been a long time since she wasn't too hungover to notice when I was ill, and it was nice to finally have a mom. Maybe, in some twisted way, my father's death had been good for her. Maybe, now that she was really, truly, a single mother, she would rise to the challenge and be a good one.

"Mom, I'm fine. Go sort my brothers out, while I get ready." I pulled on my cheerleading outfit and fiddled with it, looking in the mirror. I'm sure it was tighter that it had been the day before. Maybe it shrunk…yeah right. It's because I'm a fat cow. I turned away from the mirror and smiled at my mother.

"Okay, Santana, if you're sure…but if you feel worse during the day, call me and I'll come pick you up. Okay?" she asked, on her way out of the room.

"Yeah mom, whatever." I sighed, waving goodbye as I bent down to tie the laces on my new white sneakers. I'd gone up a size. I even had fat fucking feet!

Grabbing my bag I checked my timetable to make sure I had all the right books. I cursed to myself under my breath when I realised I hadn't done my bio homework. Mr Franklin was going to kill me!

I checked the time on my phone and my eyes widened. I was late! I picked up my bag, shoving random books in and hoping they were the right ones, and took the steps two at a time.

"Bye mom!" I yelled behind me as I yanked open the door and stepped out. Slamming it shut behind me, I started running down the street towards the bus stop before remembering Brittany. Turning around, I ran back up the street and up to her front door.

I knocked loudly, and heard a shouted 'come in!' from the other side of the door.

"Britt?" I said as I opened the door, peering inside. I was shocked at the chaotic scene. Britt's little sister was running around in her pink panties and nothing else, laughing as her dad awkwardly chased her, trying to avoid chairs and toys and little tables. Britt was yelling into her phone, pacing up and down the room, occasionally dodging to avoid her sister and father. The radio was playing loudly in the kitchen, and the TV was blaring. Britt saw me and smiled, waving hi. I signalled for her to come over, and she nodded.

"I have to go now. Please don't call this number again!" she listened as the person on the other end said something, before yelling again in reply.

"STAY OUT OF MY BUSINESS!" she yelled, before hurriedly hanging up the phone and picking up a stylish pink bag and walking over to me.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Someone called Landlord." She smiled, following me out the door and shutting the door behind her. I looked at her, shocked.

"Why were you yelling at your landlord like that?" I asked her, horrified.

"He kept asking me all these questions about my dad and stuff."

"Like what?"

"Like when he gets paid and when he was going to get his money and stuff. I told him my dad doesn't do drugs, and he certainly doesn't owe any gang members any money." I stared at her, completely speechless.

"You do realise that the Landlord is the guy that owns your house? Your dad pays him money once a month so that you can live here?" she looked at me, worry etched into her face.

"Oh God. I thought he was a gang member or something. I thought Landlord was a nickname!" she cried, close to tears.

"Don't worry Britt, I'm sure it will be fine! Just ask your dad to speak to him and sort things out." She still looked worried, but she managed a small smile.

"Santana, do you think I'm stupid?" I stared at her, appalled.

"Why on earth would I think you were stupid?" I asked.

"Well, everyone else I know thinks I'm stupid. My parents, well, my dad says I'm not, but even he calls me stupid when he's angry sometimes. Even I think I'm stupid sometimes. Like now for instance. I could have gotten us kicked out of our new home because I thought Landlord was a nickname for some sort of drug lord or something! If that's not stupid I don't know what is!" she cried, and I hugged her because I could tell she was close to tears.

"Look, Britt, everyone has their blonde moments. But you're not stupid, okay?" she smiled, but I saw a tear escape her eye. I brushed it away, and I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to lean in and kiss her. So I did. I leant closer, and she looked shocked for a second before closing her eyes.

"Sanny! Whassup?" I jumped at the sound of my boyfriend Puck calling my name from his truck, which he had stopped on the road next to us. Luckily, he hadn't seen me almost kiss her.

"Hey Puck. Don't call me Sanny." I sighed, grabbing Britt's arm gently and pulling her over to his truck.

"Sorry Tana. Who's your friend?" he asked, and I rolled my eyes at the use of another of his stupid nicknames for me. Why can't he call me by my real name? He is my boyfriend after all.

"Don't call me Tana either, Puck! My name is Santana, not Sanny or Tana, or Sannytana!" I yelled. He looked taken aback.

"Sorry. Who's your friend _Santana_?" he asked, putting emphasis on my name. I sighed, trying to prevent myself from hitting him.

"I'm Brittany, nice to meet you Plucky." Britt said. I looked at her, confused. 'Puck' wasn't' a difficult name to remember… Puck seemed to think so too.

"It's Puck, stupid." I gasped, looking at Britt. I was worried she would take offence, but she just laughed.

"I know your name, silly. Santana keeps talking about you, how could I not remember? I just thought that since you were so insistent on giving Santana a nickname, I'd give you one. You like Plucky? Or would you prefer Pucker?" I burst out laughing as I watched Puck's face turn red. I knew he was angry, but I didn't really care.

"Come on Santana, Becky told me you weren't on the bus so I came to pick you up." I couldn't help but smile. As annoying as he was, he's a pretty sweet guy.

"Thanks Puck. Come on Britt, jump in the back."

"No! She can't come, just you." Puck said, and I stared at him, eyebrows raised.

"Are you really going to do this?" I asked him. He nodded.

"It's fine Santana, I'll just get my dad to take me to school." She sighed.

"No, it's not. Either we both get a lift with Puck, or neither of us do." I said, looking at Puck as I said it. He just shook his head.

"Just get in the car baby." He said, turning the keys.

"No. Either you give us both a lift, or neither of us."

"Fine." He sighed, and I smiled, pulling Britt towards his car. I was shocked when he revved the engine and sped off down the street. _Love you too Puck._

**If you havent read the AN at the top, please do. It's important. :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews! I have some bad news...well, not too bad! This could be the last time I update until sunday/monday, as im going on a school trip to Belgium and my dad wont let me take my laptop! I'll still be reading FanFic on my phone, but I can't write and update on my phone so you guys will just have to wait it out. :/ Sorry! I hope you like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line! **

Chapter 4

It turned out that Britt's dad had to take her sister to school, and then go straight to work, so he wouldn't be back for ages. So we walked. And when I said it was ten miles away, I wasn't even exaggerating. Well, it's only two and a half, but it felt like ten miles.

"Santana?" Britt finally said. We had been walking in silence until now.

"Yeah Britt?" I replied, not looking at her. I was too embarrassed about Puck. Now she would think I was dating a horrible guy, and I really wanted her to like Puck. I like him a lot…I think. Okay, maybe it feels wrong sometimes, when we make out and stuff, and when he says I love you I sometimes have to pretend to be asleep because I feel uncomfortable saying it back. But I did like him.

"Are you mad at me?" I looked at her, surprised. Why the hell would I be mad at her?

"No, why?" I asked. She sighed in relief.

"Well, I made you miss the bus, and then I made your boyfriend abandon you. I'd be mad at me if I were you." I smiled.

"I would have missed the bus anyway. And besides, Puck was being a jerk. All you did was stand up for me. He didn't like that, since he's not used to it. I usually let him walk all over me."

"Well you shouldn't!" she shouted suddenly, exasperated.

"Why not?" I asked, surprised at her outburst.

"Because no girl should be walked all over! You are your own person, and you have the right to stand up for yourself! If the guy doesn't treat you right, dump him. He doesn't deserve you, Santana." She had calmed down now, and was practically whispering that last bit.

"I know I shouldn't let him, but trust me Britt, he's not a bad guy. He just takes things too far sometimes. But he loves me, and I lo-like him a lot too." Somehow, I couldn't bring myself to tell her I loved him. _Because you don't._ I shook my head, expelling the thought. Of course I loved him. He's my boyfriend. We've been dating for ages.

"Well, I guess it's your relationship. Just please, don't let him walk all over you anymore, okay? I care about you too much to see you unhappy." I was shocked at the way she said this. I knew she meant that she cared about me as a friend, but I wondered if maybe it was more than that… The way I had been thinking about her, after all, wasn't the way most people would think about a best friend. And she had kissed me after all.

"You are my best friend, Santana. I would really hate to see you hurt." She continued, and I felt a slight pang in my chest when she said friend. I tried to ignore it. There was no way I liked her. I am not gay. There's nothing wrong with it, but I am not gay!

"Thanks Britt. I guess I can try to stand up for myself more…" she smiled, then linked her arm through mine. We talked for the rest of the walk, mostly about stupid TV programmes she watched that I had only seen because of my friends. I mean seriously, who gives a shit about the hardships of life in the Orange County? You live in the Orange fucking County! How hard can it be? But from the way Britt talked about it, I actually began to develop a liking for it. Or maybe it was just because she liked it...

"Oh, look, we're here! And we're not even late! Come on Santana, let's go!" she grinned wildly and dragged me towards the school building.

"Are you really this excited about school?" I asked her, incredulous.

"Nope. I'm nervous as hell. Honestly, I'm screaming inside. I hide my fear well." I laughed and directed her towards the reception, before telling her I would meet her here for break and heading for my homeroom. I would have waited for her, but if I was late for homeroom again, no matter what the excuse, Miss Duncan would give me detention, and then mom would kill me. And dad would be so disappointed…oh, wait, no he wouldn't. He's dead. I suddenly had to struggle to hold back the tears. Being around Britt took my mind off of it, but now that I was away from her, I felt depressed and seriously upset again.

Walking into my homeroom, I smiled slightly at my 'friends' and took a seat alone at the back. Becky came over, leaving the rest of them chattering alone at the table I usually sat with them at.

"Are you okay Santana? You seem sad." She stated the obvious. If it had been anyone else I would have just told them to fuck off, but this was Becky Jackson. It was an unspoken rule that no-one in school was mean to Becky Jackson.

"Yeah Becky I'm fine. I just want to be alone."

"Okay. Are you coming to practice today?" I shook my head, trying my hardest not to cry.

"Okay then. I'll tell coach you don't feel well. See you Santana."

"Bye." I smiled slightly.

"Okay class! Listen up! Today we have a new member. She was given the option of choosing her homeroom, and she chose us!" No. Way.

"Who is it Miss?" asked one of the cheerio's whose name I couldn't remember at that point in time.

"Her name is Brittany. Brittany Pearce."

"But you guys can call me Britt." She smiled, walking into the classroom. I heard a few guys wolf whistle, and scoffed, disgusted. Although, to be fair, I couldn't blame them. I hadn't noticed before, but her black skirt was really short, and her V-neck was really, really low-cut…

"Santana!" she called, her face lighting up. I smiled back at her and waved, my mood already lifting.

"Hey Britt. Come sit over here." I grinned back. Everyone stared at me as she walked over and sat down. Well, all the girls stared at me. The guys were too bust staring at her ass.

"Hey, take a picture, it'll last longer!" I shouted, and she turned around, surprised. All the guys looked away, embarrassed. She just laughed.

"You'd get more out of a picture too, if you know what I'm saying…" she raised her eyebrows suggestively, and Miss Duncan cleared her throat loudly. Britt just laughed and sat down beside me, smiling.

"Why did you pick this class?" she grinned.

"I'm psychic. I knew you were here." I laughed.

"No, seriously."

"You mentioned Miss Duncan last night when we were talking. I recognised the name, so I picked her." I smiled. I didn't even remember mentioning Miss Duncan. Then again, we had been talking for hours, and I hardly remembered any of what we said.

Miss Duncan was talking about something for a while, before she read the announcements and told us we could leave just as the bell rang. Jumping up, I left the room, Britt following behind me.

"Do you have your timetable?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"They haven't sorted it yet. I'm supposed to go to lessons with a friend for a few day until they sort it out." I smiled, happy she would be in my lessons, but also worried. She was worried about being stupid, and I was in the highest groups for all my lessons. I'm a grade A student, and I had no idea what she was. I didn't want her to feel bad if she couldn't keep up, but at the same time I couldn't tell her that in case she thought I was saying she was too stupid to do my lessons.

"Well, I guess you're coming with me then. Unless you want to go with one of your other friends…?" I tried. She laughed.

"Yeah, because I have so many of those." I laughed too.

"I'm sure none of the guys would mind you going with them…" I raised my eyebrows suggestively.

"Nah, I think I'll stick with you."

"Good, I'm- argh!" I screamed as a pair of arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me off the ground. Realising that it was Puck, I relaxed and smiled as he spun me around in a circle. Then I remembered our fight this morning and pulled away.

"Get off me, Puck!" I shouted. People turned to stare, but I just shot them all a glare and they kept walking.

"What's wrong with you, Santana?" he asked, looking offended.

"You know what's wrong. You abandoned me this morning!" I shouted.

"You gave me a choice, and I chose. It's your problem if you didn't like my choice." I glared at him, and he backtracked.

"Look, you're right, I was a jerk. I'm sorry. I was just pissed off. But you're not usually this angry about stupid stuff like that. What's really wrong? Is it that time of the month?" he asked, and I got mad again.

"No, it's not that. I'm just in a bad mood because my dad died yesterday. Nothing for you to worry about." I said sarcastically. I saw his expression change from one of annoyance to one of horror, and shock. I turned to walk away, fighting back tears, but he grabbed me and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Santana. So sorry. You should have told me; I never would have been such a jerk. Come on, I'll walk you to maths." I smiled into his shirt. Although it felt more like a brotherly hug than anything else, it felt familiar and it helped. I let the tears fall, knowing that he wouldn't mind me ruining his shirt. And how sweet; he knew my schedule!

"Are you coming Britt?" I asked, sniffling.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Puck tensed up, but I looked at him and he relaxed.

"Hey, Britt? I'm sorry about this morning. I was a jerk. Forgive and forget?" I smiled at his attempt to make up with my best friend. See, I told you he wasn't all bad.

"Sure." She smiled slightly.

We all walked to maths in silence, Puck still holding me close. When we got there he kissed my forehead lightly and said goodbye.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"I've got biology." That was on the other side of school! How sweet, that he would make himself late for me!

"Oh, well see you at break." He smiled.

"Yeah, see you. Love you." He smiled. I smiled back.

"Love you too Puck." I waved goodbye then opened the door and walked into the room, Britt following behind me.

"Santana, you're late." Said Miss Smith sternly, but her expression softened when she saw Britt.

"Sorry miss. This is Britt, she'll be joining the class for a few days until she gets her schedule."

"Ah yes, I got the email. It's kind of like a lottery; no-one knows who's going to get the new girl until she turns up." I smiled, and Britt walked over to an empty seat. I followed and sat next to her.

"So, Britt, what grade are you at in maths?" Miss Smith asked her.

"Well, I don't know how things work here, but at my old school I was straight A's. In everything. Except art. I can't draw at all." I looked at her, shocked. She had to be lying! No offence to her, but there was no way she could be straight A!

"Well. Looks like you came to the right lesson. Okay everyone, turn to page 197 and start working from question three. Britt, if you're struggling, just aske Santana for help. She's our star pupil." I blushed.

"Thanks miss, but I don't think I'll need to. We just covered this before I left my old school, so I should have no problem." She grinned at miss and started working. I started too, expecting her to ask me for help any minute. But she didn't. Actually, after ten minutes I was halfway done, and she stuck her hand up.

"Yes Britt? Do you need help?" asked Miss Smith, smiling.

"Nope. I've finished." I looked up, shocked. No way! These questions were seriously difficult! How could she be done?

"These are pretty basic, do you have any more challenging ones?" I could tell that miss was shocked. We were all pretty smart in this class, but we struggled with questions like this. Grabbing Britt's book, she checked through all the answers, her eyes growing wider by the second.

"Oh, wait a minute Britt. They're all right except for this last one." Britt looked surprised, but shrugged.

"Okay, miss, I'll check again." She looked over the question, but didn't change anything.

"You got the answer yet?" miss asked her.

"Yeah miss. It was right originally."

"Not according to the answer book." Said miss, looking pissed off. Britt then proceeded to get up, walk over to the board, and write out the question. She then proceeded to, very quickly, go through the working out, and came up with the same answer she got in her book. Looking thoroughly peeved now, miss stomped over to the board and rubbed it off, starting again. She did the question again, albeit much slower than Britt, and came up with the same answer. Her face bright red by now, she turned to Britt.

"I guess you're right. My apologies. Congratulations, Brittany, you're a genius." She rolled her eyes and went to sit down at her desk. Britt looked at me, confused, but I just shrugged.

Who knew? Brittany may have her blonde moments, but the girl is a fucking genius!

**Please review! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the wait guys! Thanks for the reviews, it means a lot! I hope you like this chapter, I don't want to disappoint after such a long(ish) wait! Please review, I'll update faster if you review! :D**

**Also, I've been told in a review, thank you for that btw, that I needed a slight warning for this chapter, so I'm putting one in. It's not M-rated or anything, but there is some bulimic scenes, not just in this chapter but in a few more. I get that some people don't like things like that, so I'm sorry for not putting one in earlier, I do feel bad for my reviewers who commented on it :/ Thanks for letting me know about the way you feel, I hope it didn't put you off too much :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line.**

Chapter 5

As it turns out, Britt really was a straight A student. She was a whole lot smarter than me. Except for in art, but you don't have to be smart to be good at art. Hey, that rhymes!

Anyway, that day was by far the best day I've ever had in school. Me and Britt sat together and talked in every lesson. And today was Friday, so we could go home and hang out all night without having to worry about waking up early in the morning. Puck gave us a ride home, to make up for not giving us a ride in the morning, and Puck and Britt actually turned out to like each other quite a lot.

We were sat in comfortable silence, listening to the radio, when Puck spoke to Britt.

"So, Britt, you got your eyes on any of the guys in school?" he asked, and she laughed, looking at me.

"Not really, no. I've never dated a guy before." Puck turned to look at her, eyes wide.

"Eyes on the road Puck!" I yelled. I get very nervous about driving and stuff.

"Sorry babe. Are you serious, Britt? You've never dated a guy? Ever?" she smiled.

"Nope."

"Why not? A girl like you must have had guys throwing themselves at you!" he looked completely shocked, as if the thought that a hot girl could have never had a boyfriend was practically impossible. Then again, in Lima, it was.

"Oh, I did. Until the entire school found out that I was gay." Puck's eyes widened, and for once in his life, he was speechless.

"Puck? Say something; I think you're making Britt uncomfortable…" I said, worried that he would be angry. He grinned widely, and I shot him a pleading look.

"Wow. You're a lesbian?" she flinched at the word.

"Well, I don't like the term 'lesbian'. I think it's just as offensive as 'dyke' or 'muff muncher'. But yes, I am gay. I like girls, not guys."

"Wow. You know, I've always wanted to meet a les-gay girl." He said, and she smiled.

"Well, we're pretty much exactly the same as straight girls. Only, we like girls. Obviously." I sighed in relief, glad that Puck had no problem with it.

"Cool. So, do you have your eyes on any girls then?" her eyes flickered over to me and back, but it was so quick that I could have imagined it.

"Nah, not really. Don't get me wrong, all the girls at McKinley are gorgeous, but non of them are really my type."

"Too bad. We've only got one gay couple in school, but I don't really know them." I looked at him, confused. Who the hell was he talking about?

"Who's gay?" I asked.

"Kurt and Blaine." I was still confused. I had no idea who they were.

"Who are Kurt and Blaine?" I asked. Puck looked at me like I was stupid.

"The two guys in glee club who are dating?" I was still clueless.

"McKinley has a Glee club? No way! I love Glee Clubs!" cried Britt, and Puck looked away from me.

"Yup. But it's for geeks and nerds and losers. You would completely destroy your reputation if you joined, babe." I would have been offended by him calling another girl 'babe', but I knew it was nothing to be suspicious about. It wasn't as if they would cheat on me, after all.

"Oh." Britt looked upset, but I knew better than to tell her otherwise. Mercedes Jones used to be, like, my second in command or whatever. She was almost as popular as me. Then she joined Glee and now she gets slushied daily ,and if you mention 'Mercedes Jones' to anyone, they'll say something along the lines of, 'wow, she has the same name as that popular girl that left ages ago'. It was sad, really, the way that joining a club could do such drastic things to your reputation.

"No worries Britt, we can play Wii Sing It tonight, okay?" I said, and she smiled.

"Sounds great." Puck looked between us, eyebrows raised.

"What?" I asked him, and he grinned.

"You two having a sleepover?" he asked, and I nodded before understanding.

"Puck! You dirty bastard! Ew!" I shouted, whacking him on the shoulder. He laughed, pulling up outside my house to let us out.

"Love you too baby!" he shouted as we jumped out the car and practically ran up the driveway. I pretended not to hear him, just waving goodbye over my shoulder. Opening her front door, we ran inside and up the stairs to her bedroom. We both collapsed on the bed with laughter before going back down the stairs to get something to eat. I hadn't eaten lunch, but she had. Despite this, she fixed us both a huge sandwich. Even looking at it made me feel fat, but it looked so good…

"You okay Santana?" Britt asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I replied, looking away from the sandwich.

"You've been staring at that sandwich for ages. If you don't want it, I'll have it. Although you really should eat; you never had any lunch." I smiled. As much as I wanted to eat the sandwich, I motioned for her to take it.

"I'm not hungry anyway. I wasn't well this morning, I think I've just got a bug or something but I don't want to make myself worse." She smiled sympathetically, grabbing my sandwich and taking a bite.

Once she had finished, she took me up on my offer and pulled out Wii Sing It. It took her a long time to set it up, mostly because she couldn't figure out how to attach it to her new TV. When it was finally done we chose a Demi Lovato song, 'Don't Forget', and she started singing. Her voice was beautiful; soft and sweet. Nothing at all like Demi's, but she could really sing. I took over halfway through, and she stared at me, awestruck. I've always known I could sing, but the way she was staring at me, you would have thought I was famous.

When the song finally finished, after we belted out the last chorus in harmony, we stared at each other.

"You're amazing!" we said simultaneously, before bursting into laughter.

"Come on, let's go upstairs and watch The OC." She said.

"I thought you wanted to play Sing It?" I said, confused.

"We did play Sing It, Santana." She looked at me blankly.

"Not for long…"

"I get bored easily. You should probably get used to that if we're going to be friends."

"So will you get bored of watching The OC quickly?" she looked shocked.

"Never! I could watch The OC all day long. You don't have to worry, we can watch as much as you want." She smiled, and I rolled my eyes. Of course, the one thing I don't particularly want to do is the one thing she could do all day.

I lay back on her bed while she put the disk in. After three episodes, I was starting to feel tired, and halfway through episode six, I fell asleep. I woke up not long later with my head on Britt's lap. She was stroking my hair absent-mindedly, staring intently at the screen. I had woken up because her dad had called us down for dinner, but it looked like she hadn't heard. Either that or, most likely, she was ignoring him.

"Britt, your dad said dinner is ready." I said, sitting up and combing through my hair with my fingers. She looked at me.

"I know. I'm watching The OC. This is the best Rylissa scene in season one. I am not missing this." She said, shushing me and turning back to the screen.

"You do realise you can pause it, right?" she looked at me.

"Of course you can't pause it." She said, looking at me like I was stupid.

"Erm, yeah, you can. Look!" I said, grabbing the remote and pressing the pause button. She stared at the remote in my hand, then back at the screen.

"That. Is. So. Cool!" she cried, bouncing once on the bed. She grabbed the remote off me, pressing play, then pause, then play, and then pause a few times before I took the remote again and threw it on the bed, dragging her out the room and downstairs into the kitchen, where her dad and sister were sat at the table, tucking into spaghetti. My mouth watered at the sight of the huge portion on my plate, but I knew I couldn't eat it all. Not if I wanted to fit into my cheerleading uniform on Monday.

I sat down and everyone ate in silence. Before I knew it, my entire plate of food was gone, and I was so full I felt like I couldn't get up.

"Erm, Britt?" I said.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"I'm just gonna go home for a second and grab my…erm…phone charger! Yeah, that's it, I need my phone charger!" she looked suspicious, but nodded.

"Okay. See you in a minute!"

I left the house and jogged over to mine. Opening the door, I was greeted by my mom yelling a 'hi Santana' from the kitchen, and my little brothers waving half-heartedly, not taking their eyes off the TV screen.

I ran up the stairs and into my bathroom, before rethinking it and leaving to lock my bedroom door. Wouldn't want my mother to hear me again. I knew I would be able to do it this time. It was always easier when I had just eaten. Leaning over the toilet bowl, I shoved my fingers down my throat again. I winced at the pain, and the taste was disgusting, but all I had to do was gargle some mouthwash to get rid of the taste, and the pain went after a minute or so.

And it was worth it, for this feeling. The feeling that I wasn't going to get fatter, the feeling that even though I had made a mistake and eaten too much, it didn't matter. I felt like shit, but I felt really good as well. Sighing, I flushed the toilet and left my bathroom. I went back downstairs and into the kitchen. Mom wasn't drinking. Well she was, but it was only water. At least, it looked like water. I smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Why are you so late back?" she asked me. It was almost eleven, after all.

"I'm staying at Britt's tonight." She looked confused.

"Who's Britt?" she asked.

"The girl who just moved in next door." She looked angry.

"Brittany Pearce? No. No way. I hear that her mother was a drunk who ran away and abandoned her husband and two children, and the father moved them here to get away from her. Now the older one, Britt I'm guessing, is a druggie and a heavy smoker, and they send the younger one into shops to steal stuff so that if they get caught they can say it was because she's young and doesn't know any better. I don't want you to have anything to do with that family."

"So, you heard a rumour and you just believed it? Without even checking to be sure?" she looked a little guilty, but not really.

"Well, it came from a very reliable source…" I looked at her disbelievingly.

"Who?"

"Mrs Patterson." I rolled my eyes.

"Isn't Mrs Patterson the one who told you that our principal had overdosed and was lying in hospital fighting for his life three years ago when, in actual fact, he was on holiday in the Bahamas?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"And the one who, a couple of months ago, told you that she had heard me and Puck discussing our plans to run away and get married in Vegas and have seven kids?" she rolled her eyes.

"She was drunk when she said that."

"So? Mom, that woman has never been right about anything! Her mother wasn't a drunk, and she didn't run off. Her father divorced her mother because he was sick of her always moaning about how much Britt ate and how she was going to get fat and she was basically making Britt feel like shit constantly. Then they moved away from New York because her mother used to keep showing up at the house and pretend like nothing had happened. She doesn't speak to her mother anymore." My mom looked taken aback, and very guilty.

"Oh. Well, in that case, I'll see you tomorrow." I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything. My dad just died. My mom didn't need any more stress, and I needed my mom more than ever.

"See you mom." I sighed, hugging her tightly and breathing in her familiar scent, for once not laced with the stench of booze. I left the house smiling, and went back to Britt's place.

**Please review! :P**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys! So sorry I made you wait so long, I had so much going on! But I think I'll be able to update more often now, and the easter hols are coming up so Ill have more time, although we're decorating the whole house, and the garden, so I cant garuantee I wont be just as busy... hope you like the chapter! Thanks for the reviews, btw, they mean a lot! :D**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line. Aren't I gutted.**

Chapter 6

When we woke up it was midday, and we were both hungry as hell. I checked my phone, (fully charged, by the way), and I had a text from my mom.

_**Come home. We need to speak to someone about the funeral arrangements.-mom**_

Even Britt couldn't cheer me up after that. We ate our lucky charms in silence. Her dad had taken Amelia, her little sister, to the park so we were alone. After breakfast I went home. I knew mom was going to yell at me, since she had texted me at about eight this morning, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

When I walked in the house, my brothers were watching TV, as usual. I went into the kitchen to find mom crying. Into someone's shoulder. A man's shoulder. A man who wasn't my dad, (obviously). Shocked, I froze in the doorway. Seeing me, mom pulled away and stood up, looking guilty.

"Santana! This is Rob, from the funeral planning place. He came over to discuss plans for the funeral, and I kinda broke down." Now I got it. She wasn't guilty because she was in the arms of another man two days after my dad died. She was guilty because she broke down, and she felt like she couldn't break down, since she was my mom, the one supposed to be strong, to stand by me. I smiled, and she relaxed.

"Have you decided anything?" I asked, going over to the sink to get a drink.

"Well, we want to have it soon. I was thinking next weekend, but-" my eyes widened.

"Mom, that's my birthday!" I cried. She looked at me and bit her lip.

"I know sweetie, but it's the only time Jenny can make it." I flinched at the mention of Jenny.

"Even more reason not to have it next Saturday! What are you even doing speaking to her? I thought we broke off all contact with her, mom?" she suddenly looked angry.

"I kept her number, Santana. This is the first time I've spoken to her since she left."

"Well, you shouldn't have called her. You shouldn't have even told her he died." She suddenly walked forward and slapped me, hard.

"How dare you? She is your sister, she deserves to know that your father died, and she deserves to be able to come to his funeral!" I put a hand to my face, equally angry by now.

"Why should she know? It's not as if she ever cared about him!" I yelled.

"Of course she cared! He was he father!"

"Then why the fuck did she leave when we found out about the cancer? If she loved him, and cared about him, why did she abandon us all?"

"Because she couldn't deal with it! She couldn't deal with losing him!"

"So she chose to lose all of us instead?" we were full on screaming at each other now. I was surprised no-one had called the police. Rob was trying to pull my mother away from me, and my brothers were stood in the doorway looking scared.

"I don't know what was going through her mind at the time Santana! I just know that she loved us, all of us. And she cared about him. She just couldn't stick around and watch him die! The only thing that stopped me from leaving was you kids!"

"I don't care what her excuses were, mom. I hate her. I don't want to see her again. We are not having the funeral on my birthday. She is not coming to the funeral. If she goes, I won't. And I mean that, mom. I really mean it." She nodded, resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to win this argument. I knew she would probably invite her anyway, but I would deal with that when I had to. For now, I just wanted to get out of the house.

I left the house, and sat down in the driveway. I wanted to go see Britt, but I knew that the entire neighbourhood must have heard our fight, and I was too embarrassed to look her in the eye. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I speed-dialled Puck's number.

"Hello?" he asked questioningly. I shook my head and rolled my eyes through my tears. Even after all this time, he still hadn't gotten round to programming my number into his phone.

"Hey Puck," I purred seductively, "it's your special girl."

"Oh, hey Quinn. You want to come over again? Have a repeat of last night? Maybe we could record it this time, make things a little more…interesting." I dropped the phone, shocked. That couldn't be Puck. I picked it up and checked that I had called the right person. I could hear him calling her name, so I picked up the phone again.

"Puck? Is that you?"

"Yeah Quinn. You're voice sounds strange. Is your throat sore from screaming my name?" I felt a fresh bout of tears escape my eyes.

"I'm not Quinn. I'm Santana. You know, your _girlfriend_?" I heard his sharp intake of breath, then silence. Eventually, he spoke again.

"Santana, it's not what you think." I laughed disbelievingly.

"Sure it's not. Don't worry, I'm just going to believe you when you tell me you're not cheating on me with Quinn. I'm not going to punch Quinn so hard she won't be able to smile for a month. And I'm not going to dump your ass so fast you won't have time to blink."

"Really?" he said, sounding surprised.

"You know Puck, there's this thing. It's called sarcasm. It's a very useful tool in life. You should Google it. Or better yet, get Quinn to Google it for you." I said harshly, before hanging up the phone and bursting into tears once again.

I don't know how long I sat there, just curled up in a ball on the pavement, crying my eyes out, before I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and pull me into a hug.

"It's okay. Everything is going to be okay. Stop crying, Santana, please. I hate it when pretty girls cry." I smiled slightly, and buried my head in her neck.

"Everything is going wrong, Britt. My dad just died, after having cancer for three years. Mom's invited my sister to the funeral, which she wants to hold on my birthday. So I had a huge row with my mom and I'm pretty sure she hates me. Then I called my boyfriend because I wanted him to come cheer me up, and he calls me Quinn, and starts asking me if I want to have a 'repeat of last night', and if my throat was sore from 'screaming his name'. Why does everything bad have to happen to me? What did I do to deserve this?" I sobbed into her sweater, and she held me tight.

"You didn't do anything wrong. Have you ever heard the saying 'good things always happen to bad people, and bad things always happen to good people'? Well, it's not completely true, but still. You don't have to be a bad person to have bad things happen to you. Take Jesus for example. He saved loads of people's lives, and did all this great shit for everyone, and he got nailed to a cross and buried in a cave." I laughed a little, but was too upset to stop crying.

"Yeah, but that's different." I sighed.

"Well, look, let's go through this step by step. Your dad has had cancer for three years. He's been suffering for three years. You should be happy for him; he's not in pain anymore, and he's in a better place. Right?"

"Right, I guess."

"And the thing with your mom and the funeral. Okay, so having it on your birthday sucks, but surely you could make it a good thing? Like, have the funeral in the morning, then have your birthday later. It would be like celebrating your life and his life at the same time. And if you really don't want to, I'm sure your mom won't make you do that."

"I guess…"

"And obviously, she doesn't hate you."

"I know."

"So, what's wrong with your sister coming to the funeral?" she asked me. I sighed. It wasn't that I didn't want to tell her; I just didn't want to talk about it. But I explained anyway.

"Well, basically, three years ago, we were told that my dad had been diagnosed with cancer. The day after, she packed all her stuff away and left. She said she would call, but she never did. After about six months, mom called her. She said hello, then told mom she was busy and would call back later. She never did. Mom called again the day after, but her number had been disconnected. Eventually, about a year ago, mom managed to find her new number from one of her old friends. Yeah, she kept in touch with them but not us. Sucks huh? Anyway, she called her, and her _husband _answered. Then mom asked if she could speak to her, and he said she had taken the _kids _to day care. In two years, she had gotten married and had twins. And we didn't even know about it. He said he would tell her to call back, but he either forgot or she just didn't call. She probably just didn't want to call. But anyway, after that we just left her alone. I don't even think of her as my sister anymore. When a family member asks if I've heard from my sister, I say I don't have a sister. So they ask my mom, who tells them no. She's just Jenny, the girl that used to be my sister, but isn't any more." The tears were streaming down my face by now, but I didn't care.

"Oh, that's so terrible. I would never leave my sister and my father. My mother is a bitch, she can rot in hell for all I care, but I would never leave dad and Amelia."

"Yeah, well, now can you see why I don't want her to come? Especially if it's on my birthday, but mom says that's the only day she'll be able to make it. Mom says she does care that he's dead. If she cared, she'd change her schedule to fit the funeral, not make us fit the funeral into her schedule. I never want to see her again. Or her husband, or her kids. In my opinion they stole her from us."

"Don't be like that. It's not their fault she left you."

"Whatever. Carry on with what you were saying before…"

"Oh, yeah. So, your sister may or may not come. Screw her, you can just ignore her. Or if not, just be really, really rude. Okay, and about Puck. I didn't like him. From the way he walked all over you, I could tell he wasn't really a good boyfriend. And you deserve better than him, Santana. Let Quinn have him; you've still got me. As a friend, I mean. Don't worry, I'm not making a move on you or anything." I smiled slightly, then took a deep breath. I knew, if I said this, there would be on going back. It would be out there, and things would change completely. For better or for worse, I did not know. All I knew was that this would change things. But things had already changed so much, what's one more thing?

"Britt?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't want you to be my friend." She looked shocked, and sad, and even a little heartbroken.

"Oh. Okay then, I guess I'll just go."

"No!" I shouted, alarmed. That was _not _how I had meant it.

"What?" she looked thoroughly confused now.

"I meant, I don't want you to be my friend. I want you to be my girlfriend." It seemed like time had frozen. The look of shock on her face was enough to make me cry. I thought she was going to turn me down. But then her expression slowly changed from shock to happiness. Then from happiness to absolute joy. I stood up, brushed myself off, and opened my arms for a hug. She launched herself forwards, almost knocking me off my feet, and kissed me so hard I felt light-headed. It felt so good to kiss her. We had kissed before, but not like this. I smiled as she tangled one hand into my hair and slid the other down from around my shoulders to my waist. I slipped both mine around her body to rest just above her bum.

We eventually pulled apart for air, and I looked around. Then I froze. My mother was stood in the doorway, looking shocked, upset and a little bit disgusted. My brothers were stood there too, two in front of her and one behind, each sporting similar looks of disgust. To be fair, they would have looked like that even if I had been kissing a guy. But my mom had seen me and Puck doing more than just kissing, and she had never looked like that. She had never looked disgusted. That was what hurt the most. She didn't even have to say anything. Just the look on her face was enough to break my heart just that little bit more.

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	7. Chapter 7

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**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line. *SIGHS***

Chapter 7

I could tell you exactly what happened after that. I could tell you it all down to the tiniest detail. I will never forget that. Every last second of that argument would be burned into my mind for the rest of my life. I could tell you everything. But I won't, because it hurts. It hurts too much. So, long story short, my mother thinks that I'm a disgrace. She thinks I am disgusting, and I make her sick. And I am no longer welcome in her house. I can get all my stuff in the morning, but after that she never wants to see my face again. I'm spending the night at Brittany's house, but I don't know what I'm going to do after that. I can't stay with them forever.

Brittany was there with me the whole time. She held my hand while my mom screamed at me, and hugged me tightly when I broke down when she told me to get out, slamming the door behind her as she stomped out of the kitchen.

Lying in the sleeping bag on the floor of Brittany's bedroom later that night, I thought about everything that had happened. All those bad things, and now my mother hates me. But out of it all, there's been one good thing. Britt is my girlfriend. I am dating Britt. Britt kissed me. I kissed Britt! And you know what?

That kinda made up for everything else.

"Santana?" I heard her whisper from the bed.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Are you awake?" she asked. I laughed.

"No, Britt, I'm sleep-talking."

"Oh, okay then." She sounded disappointed.

"I'm joking Britt! Of course I'm awake!"

"Okay, good. Look, I feel bad about having this whole king-size bed to myself while you're squashed up in a sleeping bag on the floor. There's plenty of room for both of us!" I smiled, already climbing out of the sleeping bag. I got into the bed, and wrapped my arms around her waist. She rolled so that she was facing me, and kissed me lightly on the nose. I grinned before catching her lips in a real kiss, one that made my heart beat faster and my breathing speed up. She pulled away, and I surprised myself by moaning loudly. She giggled.

"Why'd you stop?" I complained.

"Because I need to ask you something."

"Ask away."

"Are you gay? Or is this just a rebound from Puck?" I was shocked at the question. I knew the answer straight away. I had never felt this way before, not with anyone, especially not Puck. I had never loved Puck, I just liked him. I liked him a lot, but that's it. I love Britt. I love her more than I ever would have thought possible. Unfortunately, she took my hesitation the wrong way.

"It's okay if it is. I just wanted to know before I did anything I would regret."

"Lie what?" I asked. I mentally berated myself. I was just making it seem more like she was just the rebound.

"Like fall in love with you."

"Oh. Well, it's too bad you haven't already done that."

"What? Why?" she looked hurt.

"Because, I've already fallen in love with you." She smiled, before kissing me again. After a minute or two, she pulled away again.

"Guess what?" she said excitedly.

"What?" I asked, laughing at her enthusiasm.

"I just fell in love with you?" I laughed even more.

"Really?" I asked.

"Truth? I was already in love with you. Since we first met, I think." I grinned.

"Truth? Same here." We fell asleep in each other's arms, and I woke up in the morning feeling utterly content. That is, until reality came crashing back to me, and I realised I didn't have a home, my father was dead and my mother thought I was disgusting.

"Britt?" I whispered.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"I need to go get my stuff. And find somewhere to live." I felt her shake as she laughed.

"Don't be stupid, you can live here. I talked to my dad last night, when you were showering and I went downstairs to get us some water. He said you can stay in the guest room until he could sort something out."

"Oh, no! Tell your dad not to worry! He doesn't have to sort anything out!"

"Chill, Santana, its fine. My dad's a lawyer. He says that since you're under 18, you can't live alone, and if your mom won't let you live with her, you need a guardian."

"But-"

"No buts. You had to stay in here last night because the guest room is being used to store boxes of stuff we haven't unpacked yet at the moment, but we'll sort it all out today and get you settled in. Dad says that if your mom doesn't let up within a month, you can officially move in and we can decorate your room and everything!"

"Are you sure he doesn't mind? I mean, taking in another teenage girl is more than just a split-second decision."

"Not with my dad. He has the money, and the space. Plus, it's easier that taking in a little kid. Little kids take a lot more looking after." I laughed.

"True that."

"So no more arguments. You're moving in tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay…"

"Good. Now go back to sleep. It's, like, seven o'clock in the morning." I laughed then closed my eyes, drifting back to sleep.

When I woke up again later on, I could smell bacon. Sadly, I realised that I was alone in the bed when I sat up. Combing my fingers through my tangled hair, I clambered out of the bed and stumbled over to the bathroom. I pushed open the door, gasping in shock when I saw Brittany in the shower, staring at me with wide eyes. Blushing bright red, I backed out, shutting the door behind me and sliding down it to sit on the floor. I tried, unsuccessfully, to calm my rapid breathing. It took all the willpower I possessed not to go back in the bathroom, strip off and jump in the shower with her. Sadly, I don't think Mr Pearce would have been so enthusiastic about me living here if I did that…

I cried out as the bathroom door flew open and I fell backwards onto the floor. Brittany squealed and jumped out of the way. I felt a sudden pain as my head hit the floor, and I think I even blacked out for a second. But after the initial shock of falling had worn off, the pain hit me, and I gasped. I touched the back of my head, feeling the lump that was already developing, as Britt knelt down beside me. She was wrapped in a towel, and I momentarily forgot about the pain. But then a fresh wave took over me, and I winced, feeling my eyes well up.

"I'm so sorry Santana! I didn't realise you were there! Are you okay? Do you need some ice, an aspirin, anything?" she sounded frantic, so I smiled reassuringly. She helped me up with one hand, using the other to hold her towel in place. I tried to walk over to the bed, but I suddenly felt dizzy and she had to grab me and pull me close. It felt like time had stopped in that moment; our bodies touching, our faces close enough that all I had to do was lean in slightly and we would be kissing. Bu then I felt the pain in my head again, and I cried out. She gently led me over to the bed, and then ran into her closet. I heard a frantic shuffling and then a 'bang' and a whispered curse before she reappeared, fully clothed. She ran over to me and sat beside me, turning my head to look at the bump.

"Ouch!" I cried when she gently prodded the bruise.

"Yeah, looks like you're gonna need some ice on that. Luckily it's not bleeding, so you don't need stitches. And if you curl your hair for school tomorrow, no-one will even be able to see the bump." She said it all so cheerfully, as if she had just solved some huge problem, that I just had to smile.

"Thanks Britt. Do you think we could go and get some breakfast?" I asked her, and she grinned.

"Yup! Smells like my dad's cooking bacon, and he never cooks bacon without pancakes, so you're in luck!" I smiled, but inside I was screaming. How could I eat all that food? I would end up so fat!

"Okay. Do you think I could borrow some clothes?" I asked her, and she looked me up and down. I suddenly felt self-conscious. I folded my arms over my stomach, trying to breathe in as much as possible.

"Well, I doubt my clothes would fit you," she said, and I felt like she had driven a knife through my heart, "you're a lot skinnier than me. You know, I'm sure you weren't this skinny when I met you. You've lost weight, and fast." I panicked at the suspicious look on her face. She could not find out about the throwing up…I was already ashamed of myself enough.

"I'm sure I haven't. If anything, I've gained weight. I'm so fat, it's not fair. Look how thin you are! I bet your clothes will be miles too small!" she looked confused.

"Are you joking?" she asked.

"No…" I replied, staring at her blankly. She sighed and pulled my arm, dragging me over to the huge full-length mirror on the other side of her room.

"Look at us, Santana! You're, like, half my size!" she said, pointing at us. I didn't see it. To me, it looked like I was twice her size, not half.

"Don't be stupid. Look," I held out my wrist, dragging her hand with my own, "even my wrists are fat!" I was close to tears now, but she just stared at me blankly.

"Are you blind? Look!" she yelled, yanking my top up to my chest, showing my stomach. My fat, ugly stomach. She then proceeded to pull up her own, and stood beside me. I looked between the two. Surely…there was no way. This must be a trick mirror or something. I could see my ribs, and I looked hideous, but not because I was fat. I could see all the bones sticking out, and my skin was an unhealthy yellowy-white colour. I was shocked; I had seen all those pictures of anorexic people, but I had never thought I would end up the same. But from the way I looked now, if I carried on the way I had been, I would end up that way. How come I could only ever see fat? Obviously I wasn't fat, and it just took me looking at myself next to Britt to make me realise. I wasn't fat; I was worse. I would rather be fat than bulimic, and I realised in that moment that that's exactly what I was. I had been throwing up for at least two years now, although it was more frequent lately. And it needed to stop, before I got really ill.

"Santana? Are you okay? Look, see, you're not fat! You're actually, like, scarily thin." She looked worried. I pulled down my top suddenly, biting my lip to hold back the tears.

"Britt, there's something I need to tell you." I was still ashamed, and embarrassed, but I knew that there was no way I would be able to stop if I didn't tell someone, so they could help me.

"What is it? You can tell me anything, Santana, I promise." She smiled reassuringly, and I took a deep breath, bracing myself.

"Well, for the last couple of years, but more often recently, I've… I've been purging." She looked shocked at first, then upset, and finally, angry.

"What the fuck Santana? Why the hell would you do that? Do you have any idea how bad for you that is? And how stupid it is, especially for you? You're beautiful, Santana, and you don't have to lose weight! Why would you do something like this?" I was crying now, and was relieved when she pulled me into a hug. At least she didn't hate me.

"Well, I guess it was because of Quinn, and all the other cheerleaders. They all starve themselves, but whenever I tried to do that I ended up pigging out on chocolate or something. That made me feel so greedy, and fat, that I eventually turned to a different method of losing weight." She hugged me even tighter.

"Well, I'm so glad you told me. I'm assuming you're going to stop?" I nodded.

"That's why I told you. I need help if I want to stop this." She grinned.

"No worries. Come on, first step to your recovery." She said, dragging me out of her room and down the stairs. That was the first time in a long time that I managed to eat as much as I wanted without rushing to the toilet to be sick. And it felt surprisingly good.

**Please read A/N at the top, its important :D please review guys!**


	8. Chapter 8

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**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line.**

Chapter 8

It's been a whole month since I last threw up, and to celebrate Brittany decided to take me to McDonalds. I haven't had a McDonalds since before I became a cheerio. So, as you can imagine, I was pretty excited. As soon as I walked into the building, I felt sick. But a good kind of sick, if that's even possible. I was pretty sure I had gained three pounds just sniffing the air, and for a second it was so tempting to just walk out, leave, and go eat something that wasn't going to make me fat. But the moment passed, and I looked at Britt, who was smiling.

"Come on, Santana, let's go find a seat. What do you want? The food's on me?" I grinned, knowing not to argue. She gets very angry about things like this.

"I'll have whatever you're having. Surprise me." I smiled, and she nodded, before jumping into a seat seconds before a red-haired woman took it. She glared, and turned to find another seat. Me and Britt burst out laughing.

"Britt, that was rude!" I cried.

"I know, but I want food, and I can't order until we have a seat." I was about to ask why we couldn't get take-out, but thought better of it.

"Okay, come on Santana; sit down so I can go order." She got up to let me slide into the seat, and I caught myself staring at her ass as she went up to the counter to order. I sat back, closing my eyes, and waited for her to come back. I hadn't got any sleep the night before, and I was struggling to keep my eyes open.

"Boo!" I jumped as someone, namely my ex-boyfriend, shouted in my face.

"What the fuck? Puck? What are you doing here?" I asked angrily.

"Came to get lunch, what about you?"

"Same."

"Since when do you eat in McDonalds? Oh, I get it, you're getting a salad or something, right?" I scoffed.

"Stop trying to make conversation, Puck. I don't want to speak to you, I don't want to listen to you, I don't even want to see your face. Got it?" he looked hurt.

"Look, just hear me out."

"No!" I shouted, blushing when everyone turned to look at me. I saw Britt look over and shoot me a sympathetic glance, but she couldn't do anything since she was waiting for the food.

"Please Sanny?" I ignored the use of the stupid nickname.

"Fine. You have thirty seconds before I call the management." He looked relieved.

"I know I cheated on you. I know I can't take that back. But it meant nothing, I swear. I just made a stupid mistake, and if I could take it back, I would." I rolled my eyes at the lack of expression in his voice. It was amazing how he was thick enough to think that by reciting some ridiculously cheesy speech he had probably copied from the TV, he would win me back.

"Nice try Puck, but this isn't One Tree Hill. We're over, completely." He looked hurt.

"Why?" I laughed.

"Two reasons. The biggest, you cheated on me. Big time. With Quinn Fabray, of all people. You know how much I hate her. Secondly, I'm with someone else." He looked confused.

"You moved on fast. Who are you with?"

"None of your business." I replied, looking over at Britt automatically. Unfortunately, he saw.

"Oh, hey Britt!" he called. Then he looked back at me, shocked. Then back at her, then back at me.

"You okay Puck?" asked Britt, coming up behind him with the tray of food.

"You two are dating? Santana's gay?" his voice was getting louder with every word, and the group he had come in with were staring, obviously having heard him.

"No! I'm no les, Puck. You should know that, I dated you for ages." I looked at Britt. She looked really hurt, but I couldn't let people know I was gay, or bi, or whatever I am. They would never let it go; Santana Lopez, head cheerio and Queen Bitch at McKinley High reduced to a laughing stock after coming out.

"You sure? Because, hello, you dumped me. Sounds like a filthy les to me." He scowled, suddenly homophobic.

"What do you care if I am anyway? You didn't care about Britt?"

"Actually, I think she's disgusting. I feel sick every time I see her face. What she is unnatural, it's horrible. But I pretended like I was okay with it since she was your friend, and I was already on thin ice with you." I was shocked, and looking at Britt, I could see that she was too.

"I'll see you around Puck. Come on Britt, let's take this to go." I grabbed her arm, but she yanked it away.

"It's okay. You take it. I'm not hungry anymore." She shoved the tray into my hands and walked out. I dumped it on the table and told everyone to help themselves. Then I followed my girlfriend out of the building.

"Britt!" I called.

"Leave me alone Santana." He voice was laced with venom, and for a second I was too shocked to move. But I snapped out of it and ran after her. I put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off and recoiled as if she had been stung.

"I'm sorry, it's just-"

"Save it, Santana. You just completely humiliated me in front of everyone. It was bad enough that you denied dating me when just last night you said you loved me more than anything. I understood that maybe you weren't ready to come out. I know I wasn't when everyone found out about me. But then you go and point out the fact that I'm gay, in front of everyone. So, basically, you just made everyone hate me to stop them from hating you. Thanks for that, Santana, I'm so very grateful to you."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think. Although Puck already knew, so I'm pretty sure they all did too…"

"That's not the point! Santana, you were willing to do that to me to get yourself out of shit. I don't care if they already knew or not; the point is, you didn't know whether they already knew or not. But you took the risk. You were selfish, and the Santana I thought I knew isn't like that. We're over, Santana. Could you please leave me alone?" I was close to tears by now, and Britt was full on crying.

"I'm so sorry, Britt. Please don't break up with me. Please. I love you." She looked doubtful.

"If you loved me, you wouldn't have done what you did."

"I do love you Brittany! Please believe me, I do love you!" I said, finally letting the tears break free. We must have really looked a sight; two girls screaming at each other and crying our eyes out in the middle of the street.

"Then prove it." I looked at her, puzzled.

"How?"

"Go back in there and tell them that you are gay, and that you love me. If you really, truly love me, you won't care who knows." I hesitated, not sure what to do. She took that as my answer.

"I knew it. See you around Santana." She turned to leave.

"Britt! I drove you here, at least let me take you home!" I shouted through the tears.

"I'll take the bus. Goodbye." She said, without even looking back at me. I had never felt so hurt. Not even when my mother kicked me out. Not even when my father died.

I walked back to the parking lot where my car was dejectedly, trying to fight the tears and failing miserably. I got a few strange looks, but mostly people just ignored me. In Lima, a broken-hearted girl crying her eyes out was a common sight.

When I got back, I realised something. I couldn't go home, because my mother hates me, and I couldn't go to Britt's, where I had been living for the past month or so, because she hated me too. So, long story short, I was screwed. Frustrated, I started hitting the steering wheel. I knew what I had to do, but I really didn't want to.

I picked up my phone and speed-dialled Rachel's number. My friendship with Rachel was strange, to say the least. Before I became a cheerio, we were so close we were practically sisters. Then she was in Glee, and people took the piss out of her, and she got slushied a lot all of a sudden. It was her idea for me to try out for the cheerio's. We thought that if I was on the squad, people would ease off on her since she was my best friend. But when I was made head cheerleader, it kinda went to my head. I completely dropped Rachel, and she was still at the bottom of the food chain.

Since then, the only time we've really spoken was when one of us was going through something big. Like, when her mom lost her job and they were kicked out of their house, she came and stayed with me. My mom never questioned it; we weren't friends, but we were really close when we needed to be. Then when my dad was diagnosed, it was her shoulder I cried on. But since then, we haven't said one word to each other, not even a quick hello. So, as you can imagine, I felt really awkward calling her and asking if I could stay the night.

"Hello! Who is this?" came her cheery voice from the other end. I felt another wave of tears fall down my face.

"H-hey Rachel. It's Santana. I know we haven't spoken in a while, but I really need a friend right now. Do you think-"

"I'll be there in ten minutes." She said. She sounded less cheery than she had been when she answered, but she didn't sound annoyed, or angry, and for that I was grateful.

"Thanks Rach." I whispered.

"Anytime."

I hung up and leant back in my seat, waiting. I think I fell asleep, as the next thing I knew Rachel was tapping on my car window, smiling at me pityingly. I opened the door and got out.

"Hey." She said. And then I wrapped my arms around her and held her so tightly I'm pretty sure she couldn't breathe. But she didn't say anything. She just stood there and let me cry. And I loved her for it. Eventually I ran out of tears, and she gently pulled away.

"Come one, let's go back to mine. My mom is at work." I smiled.

"She got a job?" I asked.

"Yup. Finally. She's waitressing at Breadsticks." I grinned.

"Great! At least one of the waitresses there likes me now." She laughed.

"Do I even want to know why the others don't like you?" she asked.

"Probably not. It involves glue, feathers and thirty dollars' worth of condoms." She snorted with laughter.

"Please, I'd rather you kept that particular story to yourself." I laughed and nodded, climbing into the passenger seat of her small car. We drove to her house in silence. We didn't need to talk to know what each other was thinking. Me and Britt were close, but we were nothing like me and Rachel friends-wise. It was like we could communicate without words. In fact, now that I think about it, we're even more like sisters now than we were before everything. We don't like each other, but at the same time, we love each other. We never really talk, or hang out, but we're always there for each other when we need to be. I smiled softly to myself, happy that in my screwed up life, there would always be one person I could always count on.

"Are you okay Tan?" Rachel was the only person, other than Brittany if she ever tried, who was allowed to call me by a nickname.

"Not really, no. But it can wait." She shook her head.

"Come on, you're obviously really upset about something. You can tell me."

"Are you sure you want to know? It's kind of a long story…"

"Well, then, you'd better get started!" she said, and I laughed. Taking a deep breath, I started from when my dad died.

And I told her everything.

**Please review! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews, glad you liked the chapter! Please review again! :D**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line. Sadly.**

Chapter 9

Rachel was pretty shocked to find out that I was gay, but she accepted it. She even made a joke about how I had always used to share a bed with her when we had sleepovers, and how she now realised that I had 'ulterior motives'. I laughed at that. She always managed to cheer me up, always. When we go to her house, her mom was really happy to see me. She had always been like an aunt to me, and even when I abandoned Rachel, she never stopped loving me like a second daughter. Well, she says that, but I can't believe that she could see me do that to her own daughter and not be the teeniest bit angry. I would be. Anyway, when we got there, she pulled me into a huge bear hug. I smiled, breathing in her familiar scent. Rachel laughed.

"Hi mom, nice to see you too. Do you want me to go live with Tan's mom so that you and your new favourite daughter can catch up?" Dianne laughed and pulled away from me.

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy, Rachel?" she asked, laughing.

"More than a hint." Rachel mock frowned, and Dianne laughed harder.

"Aw, come here, give mommy a hug Rachey-boo!" she cooed, pulling Rachel into a hug, and I couldn't help but laugh at Rachel's face.

"Help me!" she mouthed silently.

"You asked for it!" I mouthed back.

Finally, Dianne put Rachel down and turned back to me.

"So, Santana, what is it this time?" she asked, looking serious.

"Well, it's kind of a long story…"

"I've got time. Is it to do with your father?" she asked, looking sorry.

"Not just that, but yeah. I guess a lot of things have happened lately, and I had nowhere else to go."

"Okay, so, try to sum it all up. Why didn't you go to your mom?" she asked.

"My mom hates me." She looked doubtful.

"Look, Santana, I know your mom has had her…issues since your father was diagnosed, and I don't know how she is now that he is gone, but I'm sure she doesn't hate you. I would say that it's just the stress, and the alcohol." I shook my head, not surprised that Dianne would come to that conclusion.

"No, no, it's not like that. After dad died, she got better. I think it kind of woke her up, and made her realise that she was truly alone, with kids to feed and look after. She stopped drinking so much and started acting like a real mother. It was great." Dianne looked confused.

"So, what happened?" I sighed, worried about how she would react to this news.

"She caught me and my girlfriend kissing." For a second Dianne looked confused, then shocked, then confused again, and then a look of understanding settled onto her face.

"Your girlfriend? As in, you're…" she asked, sounding tentative, like she was worried about offending me.

"Yeah, I'm gay. I only realised recently, when Britt moved in next door. I always felt weird around her, and I had no idea what it was. We became really close, and then Puck cheated on me. I was outside the house, upset, and Britt came to comfort me. One thing led to another, and we were kissing. When we stopped, mom was stood in the open doorway, staring at me."

"I can only imagine how she reacted." Sighed Dianne. I nodded.

"Long story short, she told me I disgusted her and that she never wanted to see me again. She kicked me out, and I was staying with Brittany."

"Let me guess. You and her had a fight, right?" I nodded, feeling a fresh wave off tears slide down my face.

"Don't cry, Tan! Please don't cry, it'll be okay!" cried Rachel, rushing towards me and hugging me.

"I know, I know. It's just…I love her. So much. And I ruined everything." I explained quickly to Dianne what had happened at McDonalds, and she looked a little disappointed.

"I hate to say it, Santana sweetie, but I honestly would have done the same thing at that point. There is nothing worse than denying the person you are dating in front of all of your friends. She must feel so betrayed. I understand how hard it is to come out to everyone, and risk the bullying and hatred, but if you truly love her, that shouldn't matter to you. And honestly, that's the same way I feel about what you did to Rachel. I love you Santana, like a second daughter, but you've made a lot of mistakes recently, and you've hurt a lot of people. You need to speak to your mother, apologise for not telling her. I think that was the main reason she was so upset. She must feel terrible, thinking that you were afraid to tell her you were gay. You need to explain that it was only a…recent development, shall we say." I nodded.

"Thanks Dianne."

"Wait, there's more. You then need to speak to your sister. She will be coming to your father's funeral whether you like it or not, and especially if your mother doesn't get over this, you are going to need her. You then need to apologise to Brittany, and do something to make it up to her. Okay?" I was reluctant to do all of those things, except for apologising to Britt, but I nodded anyway. She was right; I needed to sort my life out, before I could move on with anything. If I fix all of my relationships now, I will be able to move on with my life and learn to live with my father's death.

"Thanks Dianne. Again. You're completely right. I needed this." I was about to put my coat back on and leave, but Rachel stopped me.

"I know you're eager to do all that stuff, but it's nearly ten o'clock. You can start in the morning, okay?" I looked at the clock, surprised. We had been talking for hours!

"Okay, I guess I can wait until morning."

"Good," She grinned, "come on, we haven't had a sleepover for ages! You go pick a scary movie, I'll get the popcorn."

The next morning, I woke up and heard the shower running, and for a second I thought I was back at Britt's house, and that she was in the shower. Then my eyes adjusted to the light, and I looked around and saw Rachel's familiar vanity table, and her huge closet. I yawned and stretched, sitting up in the bed. Dragging myself off the bed and down the stairs, I managed to pour myself a bowl of cereal and make a pot of coffee before Dianne and Rachel, who was wrapped in a towel, walked in.

"Hey Tan. You feeling okay?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Rachel, seriously? Why don't you run upstairs and put some clothes on. You wouldn't want to make Santana feel uncomfortable." I blushed bright red, looking down at the table. Luckily, Rachel made it okay.

"No worries mom. She's seen it all before. She's been my best friend for years now, if she was going to make a move on me, she would have done it by now. I mean, what person who was at least a little attracted to me would be able to resist all this for all that time?" she said, gesturing to herself and making me laugh. I was glad to know that me being gay wouldn't change anything between us. She would still take the piss out of me, and I would still know that she wasn't trying to be offensive.

"Do you two want coffee?" Dianne smiled, looking relieved.

"I have missed your coffee, Santana. Rachel tries, but she will never be able to make coffee as good as you." I laughed.

"Rachel will never be able to do anything as good as me." She scoffed.

"Says the girl who can't sing for shit about the girl who has won her school Glee club three Regional Championships and one National Championship. Just saying." She shrugged nonchalantly, but I could tell she was holding back a smug smile.

"You guys finally won Nationals? Oh my God, I'm so proud of you!" I hugged her quickly, before pulling away. She was, after all, still only wearing a towel, and whether or not she judged me about being gay, having me hug her when she was practically naked had to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Yup, we beat Vocal Adrenaline finally! They didn't even place; mainly because they lost Jesse, but still. We won fair and square."

"Well, congratulations. Oh, and how would you know that I can't sing?" she shrugged.

"Well, you can't have the looks, the brains _and _the voice. That would be unfair." I laughed.

"Aw, come on, I think we shared the looks. The brains part is right though." She slapped me playfully around the back of the head.

"May I remind you girls that you aren't sisters, as much as it sometimes feels like you are?" piped up Dianne.

"Oh, didn't you know mom? We're twins, separated at birth." I laughed at Rachel's matter-of-fact tone.

"I wish that were the case, dear. But trust me, I went through all that pain, you're definitely mine." She looked a little grossed out at that.

"I'm going to go get dressed. You can discuss how much it hurt to give birth to me with Santana." Dianne rolled her eyes and smiled at her daughter.

"She really is an odd one, isn't she?" Dianne said to me after Rachel had disappeared upstairs.

"Totally. But that's why I love her."

"I'm not sure why I love her. It's definitely not the coffee, that's for sure." I snorted.

"Maybe it's the beautiful personality?" I suggested. She winced playfully.

"On second thoughts, maybe it is the coffee." I burst out laughing at that, and when Rachel walked back in she looked at us suspiciously, as if she somehow knew we were laughing at her.

"So, Tan, whatcha wanna do today?" she asked me. I sighed.

"Well, I know what I wanna do, and that's hang out here and watch movies all day. But, sadly, what I wanna do, and what I gotta do are two completely different things." She nodded pityingly.

"Well, what's first on the agenda?" I thought for a second.

"My mom. Definitely. I need to speak to her, sort things out with her before I can concentrate on anything else." She nodded understandingly.

"Well, do you want to borrow some clothes to change into, or do you want to walk around in the clothes you wore yesterday and slept in?" I scrunched up my face in disgust.

"I think I'll borrow some clothes, if you don't mind." She smiled and dragged me off my chair.

"Makeover time!" she squealed.

"Ugh. You know, honestly, I don't mind wearing the same clothes…" she snorted.

"Nice try. Come on, let's make you pretty!" I groaned. This could be a long day.

After an hour and a half of 'prettying', Rachel finally decided I was ready to leave the house. I told her I could walk home, but she was adamant. She wanted to drive me back, even if that meant she had to wait in the car while I spoke to my mom. I tried to tell her that we could be a while, but she just said she would catch up on her sleep. I love Rachel and everything, but she's annoyingly stubborn.

When we got to my house, I braced myself before knocking on the door softly. It was opened almost immediately, by the last person I expected to see. Jenny stood there, baby in her arms, looking tired and sad and very, very stressed.

"Santana! Just the person I wanted. The kids are crying, mom's completely out of it, and Peter's just pissed off to God-knows-where!"

"I-I-erm-where's mom?" she shrugged.

"In there somewhere. She's wasted, going on and on about 'losing the only daughter that actually cared about her because she was stupid and overreacted'. I'm assuming she meant you, which hurts. I mean, of course I care about her! Why would she think that I don't?" she looked honestly bewildered. I had never hated her so much as I did just then.

"I don't know, maybe because you packed up and abandoned her with four kids and a husband in the hospital! And maybe because even though you promised you would call, both times she called you because she was sick of waiting; you weren't around to answer her! Maybe because, the second time she called you, your _husband _answered to tell her that you had taken your _kids _to day care! Or maybe it's because none of us has seen or heard from you personally for three years! Do you think any of those are suitable reasons for her to think you don't care?" she looked shocked and guilty. She leant down and put down the kid, who crawled back inside the house, crying. She then looked at me, and said one word, one word that somehow made it all better.

"Sorry." She whispered, holding back tears. And that was all it took for me to burst into tears and fall into her arms.

**Oooooohhh, Jenny's back! Hope you liked the chapter, please review! :D **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! Thanks for teh reviews, I hope you like this chapter! :D **

**Disclaimer: I've said this a hundred times already! I own nothing but the plot line! :D**

Chapter 10

When I finally stopped crying I pulled away from Jenny and smiled slightly. She smiled back before looking over my shoulder at Rachel's car.

"Who's your friend Tan?" I winced.

"Don't call me that. Please?" she looked confused, but nodded anyway.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. That's Rachel, do you remember her?" her eyes widened and she grinned.

"Rachel!" she called. Rachel jumped out of the car and ran over, giving my sister a huge hug.

"Hey Jenny, I've missed you." Rachel said, and I smiled. Rachel and Jenny had always been close, I'm glad they still were.

"That makes one of you, I guess." She said, but she was giggling so I knew she was joking.

"Aw, I'm pretty sure Tan missed you too. I should know, it was me she came crying to when you left." Rachel looked at her pointedly, and Jenny flinched, looking guilty.

"Sorry. Really, I am so sorry. I messed up big time, and I was too afraid to come back. I should have stayed in touch, but I knew that if I heard your voice, or mom's, the guilt would kill me, and I would have to come back. And I knew that if I came back I would make things even worse. You know what I did when I left? I went to a friend's place, and got hooked on drugs. I was a drunk, partying every night. I nearly died, but then Peter found me passed out on the street. He took me to the hospital and then I went and stayed with him." I was surprised.

"Why would he do all that?" she smiled softly.

"Remember when I used to go to those dancing lessons, but then I quit about a year before dad was diagnosed?"

"Yeah, I remember. You would never show us your dances, so mom kept threatening to stop paying for it." She laughed.

"That's because I hated dancing. From the very first lesson, I was absolutely crap at it and I just wanted to give up." I was confused now.

"So why didn't you? And what has this got to do with Peter?" I asked.

"Peter just so happened to be the teacher. And I had a little tiny crush on him. Who am I kidding; I was in love with him! That's why I didn't quit. Then in the end he left to go perform in a Broadway show, and they got a new teacher. There was no point going anymore, since he wasn't there, so I quit." I rolled my eyes; my sister always had been crazy.

"But if you were crap at it, why did you always get those certificates and crap?" I asked, following her into the house and shutting the door behind me.

"Well, I was crap at it in the first lesson, but after a while I picked it up and I was ace. I still hated it, but I was the best in the class. Mostly because I always paid such close attention to the teacher, if you get what I mean." She raised her eyebrows suggestively, and I laughed.

"So, what, he recognised you from the dance lessons and took you in?" I still thought it was a little odd, even if he did know who she was.

"Well, yeah, but there's a little more to it than that. See, apparently my feelings weren't one-sided. He had been offered a place in that show three times before he took it, and he denied it three times because he liked me, a lot, and hadn't wanted to go as he would never see me again. Then he saw me hanging out with Harry, and thought we were dating. He said that made him realise that we would never be together, so he took the job the next time they offered." I was grinning now, as was Rachel. We were both suckers for a good love story.

"So, what, he saw you in the street and couldn't bear to just leave you there?" she nodded.

"And I stayed at his place for a while before he finally kissed me, told me how he felt and all that, and then we were together. Not long later I got pregnant, so he proposed. The day mom called, and Peter answered was only a week or two after the wedding. Danny and Mickey were only about ten months. I didn't call back because I knew that hearing your voice would guilt me into coming home, and I couldn't bring myself to tear my brand-new family apart like that. Then when I heard dad had died, I knew that I had made a mistake. My father died without ever meeting his grandkids, and I will always regret that. That was when I decided to come over. I realised that it wasn't a case of old family and new family, it was a case of half my family, and the other half of my family. And I knew I wouldn't be happy again until those halves were together. So I came back, and I brought Peter and the kids with me. We're going to buy a house in Lima, if that's okay with you guys?" I was close to tears by now, and all I could do was nod and jump into her arms for another hug.

"That's fine. In fact, that's perfect." I cried. Rachel looked pretty happy too.

"Good. So, what's this about mom losing you? What the hell did she do?" she asked, her tone of voice changing from happy to protective and angry. I sighed, and told her everything that had happened. She looked pretty shocked, but pulled herself together.

"Wow. So, you're gay?" she asked hesitantly, still getting used to the fact.

"Yup. And I even had a girlfriend, but I screwed it up. But no worries, I'm going to apologise, and try to make things right. At the very least, we might be friends again." She smiled.

"I always thought you had bad taste in guys. Now I know why!" she laughed, and so did me and Rachel. Until now I hadn't realised exactly how much I had missed my bid sister.

"Come on, anyway, I have to speak to mom." I sighed, getting up from the couch.

"Good luck with that. She's hysterical. I sent her to bed just before you got here, and I'm assuming she went since we haven't heard from her since." I groaned.

"Has she been drinking?" she nodded.

"Yeah, but she should be fine." I shook my head.

"No, after you left she started drinking a lot. She's a terrible drunk, really angry. Just leave her to sleep it off."

"Okay. I'm sorry I wasn't around to know how mom handles drink, Santana." She looked really sorry, but I had already forgiven her. Stubborn as I am, I knew that I needed my sister.

"It's okay. Since mom is asleep right now, I'm going to go talk to Britt. See you guys in a bit, okay?" they nodded, and were deep in conversation before I had even shut the door behind me.

Taking a deep breath in, I knocked on the door to Britt's house. Her dad answered, smiling, although it faltered a little when he saw me.

"I hope you're here to apologise. She hasn't told me what happened, but I've only seen here like this once, and that was when her last girlfriend broke her heart." I nodded, fighting back tears.

"Is she here? Please can I speak to her?" his expression softened when he saw the tears in my eyes. He must have realised that I felt bad, and didn't mean to hurt his daughter.

"Yeah, she's in her room. Come on in." he moved out the way to let me in. I smiled slightly at him in thanks and jogged up the stairs. Knocking on the dorr lightly, I jumped when it swung open almost instantly.

"For God's sake dad, I'm oka- oh. It's you." She shut up when she realised it was me. For a second neither of us moved. Then she stepped back. I thought she was moving to let me in, so I went to walk in.

"Fuck!" I shouted as the door slammed shut. I heard a crunch as it hit my nose, and bent over in pain. There was blood streaming down my face, and I must have looked pretty bad, because when she opened the door again to see what had happened, her eyes widened and she squeaked in fright.

"Shit, Santana, I am so sorry!" she squealed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and leading me down the stairs and into the kitchen. I sat down at eh counter as she scrambled in the freezer to find some ice. Her dad ran in, took one look at me, and burst out laughing.

"Shit, Britt, did you have to punch her? What happened to the good old fashioned bitch slap?" he chuckled, and she glared at him.

"A slap doesn't cause enough damage. I learnt that with Annabel."

"Who'th Annabel?" I said, though it came out strange due to my messed up nose.

"She was the first girl to break my heart. No worries, dad, I didn't punch Santana." She sighed, walking over and roughly placing the ice on my nose. I winced. She sent me an apologetic look and paced it on my nose again, gently this time.

"Oh, I get it. You didn't punch her, she walked into your fist." She said sarcastically, still laughing.

"More like my door." He looked confused.

"What?" she sighed.

"I slammed the door in her face and she stepped forwards. I think I broke her nose. Oh no!" she cried, dropping the ice pack on the floor.

"What'th wrong?" I asked her, worried.

"What if you can never smell again? Or your voice is stuck like that forever!" she cried in anguish.

"Why would it be?" I asked her, still confused.

"If I broke your nose, how are you going to smell things? And your voice sounds funny, what if that's permanent?" I patted her shoulder. Same old Britt.

"Don't worry, Britt, I'll be fine." She looked relieved, if a little doubtful.

"If you say so. I'm still angry at you, by the way." I smiled, looking down.

"I figured. Look Britt, I really am sorry. I was stupid, and I let the fear of a bad reputation get in the way of the one good thing that has happened to me since my father was diagnosed with cancer." Her face softened, and her dad looked embarrassed.

"I think I'm going to leave now…" he said, walking out of the kitchen as fast as he could without running.

"I'm really the best thing that's happened to you since then?" I nodded, wincing as the pain in my nose spiked.

"Yeah, you are. I love you Britt, and I hate myself for making you sad. I swear I won't ever do it again if you take me back. Or even if you just want to be friends. I can't just not have you in my life. You mean too much to me." She smiled, and a tear slid down her cheek.

"Don't be silly Santana. Of course I'll take you back." I grinned, and she leant in and kissed me lightly, careful to avoid my throbbing nose.

"Are you girls okay?" asked Britt's dad from the hallway.

"We're fine dad. No, better than that, we're perfect. Everything is just perfect." Britt answered, smiling.

"Well, I really don't want to know what you mean by that. Look, I'm going to take your sister to the park, give you girls some time to talk, okay?"

"Okay dad. See you later."

When he left she beckoned for me to follow her into the lounge, and we sat down on the couch.

"Okay, Santana, I'm sorry too." She said quickly.

"For what?"

"For overreacting. If you aren't ready to come out, that's fine. Just because I didn't have a choice in the matter doesn't mean you shouldn't. I was overly harsh, and I'm sorry." I smiled.

"You did nothing wrong. I completely denied you, Britt, then I told them all that you were gay, then I was too afraid to tell them that I was. I completely betrayed you, and I am really sorry." She laughed.

"Okay, I'm fed up of us apologising to each other. Do you want to watch a movie or something?" she asked.

"Actually, I have to get home. Jenny's here." She looked shocked.

"Jenny as in your sister Jenny?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah. We're all forgiven, and she's talking to Rachel right now."

"Rachel?" I had forgotten that Britt didn't know who Rachel was or about our 'friendship'.

"I'll explain on the way." She frowned.

"I hope you can fit it all into a twenty second walk." I laughed. I'd forgotten we lived next door to each other.

"Right. Basically, me and Rachel used to be best friends, but then I ditched her. Since then we've only really talked when we needed someone to hug us and tell us everything was going to be okay, but we're still best friends. And I'm going to make it up with her."

"Yeah, okay, that makes no sense."

"Trust me, it makes no sense to me either. Don't worry, all you need to know is Jenny is my sister, Rachel is my best friend, and you are my girlfriend." She smiled.

"Wait, hang on, which one's your girlfriend again?" if I didn't know Britt as well as I do, I would have thought she was joking…

**Please please please review! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, second to last chapter guys! I hope you have liked the story, thanks to those who've kept with it all the way, and especially those who have found the time to review! :D It means a lot so please review again, or for the first time if you havent reviewed yet! If you review moer, I will be more motivated to write more stories, so please! Thank you guys so much! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothign but the plot line :P**

Chapter 11

The next day was a Monday. I almost didn't go, but my plan wouldn't work if I didn't. So I got dressed as fast as I could, and then called Rachel. She agreed to give me and Britt a lift to school, although she sounded surprised and more than a little bit confused. I wanted my plan to be a surprise to everyone or it wouldn't be as good, so I just let her stay confused.

When Rachel's car pulled up outside my house I grabbed my bag and ran down the stairs. I hugged my sister, my brother-in-law and my nephews goodbye quickly and left the house to go get Britt. I had met Peter the night before, and then the boys had been properly introduced to me. I spent hours playing with them, until they had to go to bed, so I spent the rest of the night talking to Peter and Jenny. Peter is actually a really nice guy. He gave up his Broadway career when my sister got pregnant, and got a job as a drama teacher in a high school. He says it's much better than Broadway, although I think he's only saying that so that Jenny doesn't feel bad for making him give it up. He's going to apply for a job at McKinley, to try to improve the drama department, so fingers crossed.

I knocked on Britt's door and she opened it, ready to go. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her quickly, not wanting to make Rachel wait. We got in the car and Britt and Rachel started talking about Glee club again. They had started talking about it yesterday, and Britt now wanted to join.

"So, what, you just choose a song to sing, rehearse it and then you can perform it in front of the rest of the club?" Britt asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, pretty much. And you can do duets and group performances too. Then there's Sectionals, Regionals and Nationals, which are the big competitions we do. Last year, Nationals was in Paris! And the Year before, it was in New York. We didn't get to Nationals the year before, which was the first year I was in Glee. But we won last year, and our enemies, Vocal Adrenaline, didn't even place!" Britt looked fascinated.

"We had a Glee club at my old school, but there were two lead singers and everyone else sang backup. All the time. The only people who were ever happy were Annabel and Chris, since they got to sing all the time, and people actually heard them. It shouldn't have been called 'Glee'. More like 'UnGlee'. It was crap compared to this school." Rachel and I laughed, but she looked at us like we were idiots. Obviously that wasn't supposed to be funny.

"Okay guys, we're almost there. Do you two want me to drop you off here so you don't, you know, walk in with me?" asked Rachel, suddenly not so smiley.

"Nah, its fine. We can walk in together." I smiled when Rachel glanced at me, a shocked expression on her face.

"What? But won't your 'friends' take the piss if they see you hanging out with a 'Glee Kid' like me?"

"Screw them. You're my best friend. I hate that it's taken me this long to realise it, but you're my true friends, and if I can't hang out with you guys I'm not going to be happy, so there's no point me being popular anyway." Rachel smiled.

"If I wasn't driving right now, I would hug you." I grinned, leaning forward and wrapping my arms around her from behind. Britt looked between us with her eyebrows raised suspiciously.

"Is there something I should know?" she said, making me burst out laughing.

"There's a spot there Rach!" I shouted, making her jump. She looked at me, eyebrows raised.

"If we get out here, everyone will see us all together. Are you sure you want to be seen getting out of a car with a Glee kid?" she said, trying to sound normal, but I could tell she was angry.

"I'm sorry Rach. I made a huge mistake when I ditched you for the sake of my reputation. But I've realised some things, and the most important thing is to put those who love you first, else you'll find out they don't love you for long." Rachel smiled, reversing into the space.

"I always loved you, Tan." Britt laughed.

"Seriously? Are you sure there's not something you need to tell me?" she said.

"Come on guys, let's get out of the car, we look like freaks just sitting here." I opened the door and climbed out. Puck and three Cheerios spotted me and started to walk over, stopping dead when they saw Rachel jump out of the car behind me.

"Santana? What are you doing riding with her? You might catch something!" shouted Dora, one of the Cheerio's. Puck laughed.

"Relax, Dora, she probably just needed a lift desperately, since she's not with me anymore. Oh, double whammy, she's with the lesbian too." Said Puck, making everyone laugh.

"Come over here, Santana, before you break out in something." Shouted another Cheerio.

"Actually, I think I'm going to stay with my friends, if you guys don't mind?" they looked shocked, but laughed timidly, unsure of whether I was joking or not.

"You're kidding me right? You're not actually friends with these freaks?" asked Quinn, walking up behind us.

"Yup. They're much better friends that you ever were Quinn. Rachel and Britt would never sleep with my boyfriend." Quinn snorted.

"That's because Big-Nose Berry here wouldn't be able to pay a guy to sleep with her, and Queer Pearce wouldn't sleep with a guy anyway." I slapped her, hard and fast. She put a hand to her cheek, mouth agape in shock.

"Don't you dare talk about my friends that way, you skanky bitch. If we weren't in school, I would kick your ass so hard you wouldn't be able to sleep with Puck for a long time to come." I whispered savagely. Quinn's eyes widened and she nodded, practically running over to Puck and the others.

"Wow, Tan, I had no idea you were so violent. Maybe we shouldn't be friends; you're such a bad influence on me…" I laughed and punched her arm playfully. She grabbed her shoulder in mock agony.

"Ouch!" she cried.

"Ha ha. Come on, let's get to class." I out my arms around them and dragged them both towards the school building. I glanced at Britt, worried. She had hardly said a word since we got here.

"You okay Britt?" she sighed, nodding half-heartedly. I could tell she wasn't, and had a pretty good idea why, but I let it go. I had a plan, and I wanted it to be as much of a surprise for her as it would be for everybody else.

We sat together in Algebra, spending most of the lesson talking and laughing at the weird looks we were getting. Britt was a little more cheery by now, but she was still upset.

At lunch we all sat together in the middle of the lunch room. I was excited now; almost time to put my plan into place. I just had to wait until the cafeteria was full. Eventually, about twenty minutes after we sat down, the place was packed, and there was an excited buzz of laughter and chat. We had been receiving loads of weird looks, mostly because of Britt being gay. It was time.

Taking a deep breath in, I got up and stood on the table. Eyes wide, Rachel and Britt both looked at me shocked, wondering what I was doing. I just grinned.

"Okay, everyone, listen up." The room fell silent, I smiled.

"Okay, so there's been some confusion, and I want to clear it all up. First of all, I've been living a lie since I first became popular. I hate cheerleading, I think it's a complete waste of time. Also, in my selfish quest for popularity, I have completely denied my friendship with Rachel Berry, just because she was in Glee and she wasn't popular herself. I seriously regret that, and even though she say it's all okay now, I know it isn't. This is just a way for me to show her that I really am sorry. And the second thing? I was going to say it, but I think this displays my true feelings for Brittany S. Pearce pretty damn perfectly." I grinned, reaching down to grab Britt's arm and pull her up onto the table with me.

"You don't have to do this." She whispered, shocked.

"Yeah, I do." I smiled, before pulling her close and kissing her passionately. For a minute there was silence. Then…

"That's disgusting!" someone yelled. I pulled away, smiling lightly at Britt, before grabbing her hand and jumping off the table. Rachel got up and we silently left the cafeteria. People were yelling insults and abuse at us, and one or two people actually threw food, but nonetheless, we left smiling.

When we got out of the cafeteria, it was like a different world. There was only about half of the student body inside, so the other half who were out here had no idea what I had just announced. As we walked past people, me and Britt hand in hand with Rachel smiling next to us, all three chatting animatedly, they stared at us suspiciously, but none of them knew. In fact, it was quite hilarious.

We went to the far end of the field for the rest of lunch, where no-one would disturb us. We knew that the rest of the school would be talking about us, making sure that not one person hadn't heard about what went down in the cafeteria. But we didn't care. Well, they wouldn't care anyway; it wasn't their reputations that were at stake. It was mine. But I was okay with that.

When the bell rang to signal the end of lunch, we all headed off to our separate lessons. I expected people to stare at me, maybe a couple people would call me names. But to was so much worse. Three guys tried to touch my boobs, and when I pulled away they would laugh and say something along the lines of 'she really is a dyke/fag/muff muncher'. As I passed a group of Cheerio's I literally saw the pull their skirts down and their tops up, as if I was going to look at them. And that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was when I turned the corner and was met with six slushies, all at once, in the face. I dropped my books, stepping backwards and bumping into someone. I turned to see who it was. Puck. Perfect.

"Don't touch me Dyke." He hissed, looking at me like I was dog shit he had stepped in.

"Trust me, Puckerman, I wasn't trying to. Even if I was straight, after what you did to me, I would never try to touch you again. You disgust me." I scowled, but he just rolled his eyes and walked off. I turned back to the group of people who had slushied me. Surprisingly, they were smiling. It was the Glee kids!

"What the fuck did I ever do to you guys?" I asked, incredulous. I thought these people were nice! Heck, one of them was gay himself!

"Nothing. That was for what you did to Rachel. We have nothing against you personally; we just thought we should teach you a lesson." I laughed. I couldn't help it; the thought that a group of cheerleaders and footballers, who are all pretty much exactly the same personality-wise, bitch about and betray each other so much, whereas this group of misfits who are all completely different in every way would be so close that they would be so quick to defend one of their own.

"Thanks, guys." They all looked puzzled.

"For what? In case you didn't realise, we just slushied you." Said Finn, the one Rachel was in love with. I smiled.

"I mean thanks for defending Rachel."

"No problem." Said one of the girls.

"Guys, can I ask you a question?" they all nodded, so I went on.

"Do you think that me and my friend Brittany could join Glee club?"

"From what I've heard, Brittany is more than just your friend," said Finn, and I nodded, smiling lightly, "but anyway, I don't see a problem with it. You'll have to audition, of course, but if you can sing, you're in."

"Thanks guys. Look, I feel really bad for having to ask this, but what are all your names?" Finn smiled.

"I'm Finn, this is Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, Mike, Artie, Sam, Sugar, Rory. The others are in their lessons. You know the Spanish teacher, Mr Schue?" I nodded, "he's our teacher, he's cool. Oh, and coach Sue pops in about once a month, mostly to annoy us and piss Mr Schue off, but other than that, Glee's pretty cool. Except for the almost daily slushies and the name calling and the whole bottom-of-the-McKinley-High-food-chain thing. That's not too great, but we're over it." I smiled.

"I'll get over it, and I'm sure Britt will too. I'm sick of being popular; it's only ever caused me pain. I want real friends, not fake ones who will gladly jump into bed with my boyfriend." They all laughed.

"Come on then, Santana, let's get you cleaned up." Said the pretty one called Mercedes. I stepped forward and she grabbed my arm, practically dragging me to the girls bathroom. I grinned; if this was what it's like to have real friends, I'm kinda loving it.

**Please review if you liked it, or even if you didnt! Constructive criticism is appreciated! :D**


	12. Epilogue

**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews, this is the epilogue so it's short but please review just to show me what you thought of the story, it makes me feel sooo happy! Sorry it's short, I honestly couldn;t think of anything more to write! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line.**

Epilogue

Britt and I auditioned for Glee club that lunch time. We were both welcomed with open arms. Apparently, all that singing in the shower paid off, since I'm a pretty good singer according to everyone in Glee. Sue kicked me off the Cheerio's, but I wasn't too angry. Actually, I only cared at all because she only did it because I'm gay. Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks that's unfair. When I told my mom she went mad. We had made up completely. She feels really guilty, I can tell. But I love her, so I won't hold a grudge. A few weeks after my shock announcement, people had all but forgotten about me being gay. There were still certain people who whispered to each other and laughed when I walked past, but things were, surprisingly, almost back to normal. One time, as I walked down the corridor, people actually moved out of the way to let me pass, like they used to do before everything. Not that I wanted them too, or anything. In fact, it was kind of awkward, since I was with Kurt and Mercedes, but they just laughed and Mercedes even did one of those weird waves that the Queen apparently does in England. I was happier than ever. I had real friends and even some of my old friends, (a few cheerleaders and other popular kids), still smiled at me, and invited me to their parties. And everyone in Glee agrees that since Britt and I joined Glee, they have been slushied a lot less often.

So, my life is great. My mom, Jenny and I go to visit my dad's grave every Saturday morning, and most of the time someone else tags along. Jenny and Peter have moved into a small house a couple blocks away, so I can go see my nephews whenever I want to. And Britt is happy, because her dad has met someone new. I haven't met her, but Britt says she is really nice. She can't wait for them to get married, she loves weddings. I told her that someday, she would get married. She laughed and asked me who. I told her me. Then I asked her.

"Britt, I know we're too young at the moment, but will you marry me one day? When we're In our twenties, or even later if you want. I just want you to promise that you'll marry me one day." She looked shocked for a second, and a tear ran down her cheek. I wiped it away, afraid of what she was going to say. Then she grinned, and nodded. I threw my arms around her neck and kissed her. When I pulled away I rested my head on her shoulders. I have never been happier than I was in that moment. I guess its pretty cliché, but I fell in love with the Girl Next Door. Literally.

**Please review! :D**


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